AFRICAAM 18A:
Jazz History: Ragtime to Bebop, 1900-1940 (MUSIC 18A)
From the beginning of jazz to the war years.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
AFRICAAM 18B:
Jazz History: Bebop to Present, 1940-Present (MUSIC 18B)
Modern jazz styles from Bebop to the current scene. Emphasis is on the significant artists of each style.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
AFRICAAM 20A:
Jazz Theory (MUSIC 20A)
Introduces the language and sounds of jazz through listening, analysis, and compositional exercises. Students apply the fundamentals of music theory to the study of jazz. Prerequisite: 19 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
AFRICAAM 30:
The Egyptians (CLASSICS 82, HISTORY 48, HISTORY 148)
Overview of ancient Egyptian pasts, from predynastic times to Greco-Roman rule, roughly 3000 BCE to 30 BCE. Attention to archaeological sites and artifacts; workings of society; and cultural productions, both artistic and literary. Participation in class is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AFRICAAM 39:
Long Live Our 4Bil. Year Old Mother: Black Feminist Praxis, Indigenous Resistance, Queer Possibility (CSRE 39, FEMGEN 39, NATIVEAM 39)
How can art facilitate a culture that values women, mothers, transfolks, caregivers, girls? How can black, indigenous, and people of color frameworks help us reckon with oppressive systems that threaten safety and survival for marginalized people and the lands that sustain us? How can these questions reveal the brilliant and inventive forms of survival that precede and transcend harmful systems toward a world of possibility? Each week, this course will call on artists, scholars, and organizers of color who clarify the urgency and interconnection of issues from patriarchal violence to environmental degradation; criminalization to legacies of settler colonialism. These same thinkers will also speak to the imaginative, everyday knowledge and creative healing practices that our forebears have used for millennia to give vision and rise to true transformation.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 43:
Introduction to English III: Introduction to African American Literature (AMSTUD 12A, ENGLISH 12A)
(Formerly English 43/143). In his bold study, What Was African American Literature?, Kenneth Warren defines African American literature as a late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century response to the nation's Jim Crow segregated order. But in the aftermath of the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights movement, can critics still speak, coherently, of "African American literature"? And how does this political conception of African American literary production compare with accounts grounded in black language and culture? Taking up Warren's intervention, this course will explore African American literature from its earliest manifestations in the spirituals and slave narratives to texts composed at the height of desegregation and decolonization struggles at mid-century and beyond.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 58A:
Egypt in the Age of Heresy (AFRICAST 58, ARCHLGY 58, CLASSICS 58)
Perhaps the most controversial era in ancient Egyptian history, the Amarna period (c.1350-1334 BCE) was marked by great sociocultural transformation, notably the introduction of a new 'religion' (often considered the world's first form of monotheism), the construction of a new royal city, and radical departures in artistic and architectural styles. This course will introduce archaeological and textual sources of ancient Egypt, investigating topics such as theological promotion, projections of power, social structure, urban design, interregional diplomacy, and historical legacy during the inception, height, and aftermath of this highly enigmatic period. Students with or without prior background are equally encouraged.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AFRICAAM 78:
Art + Community: Division, Resilience & Reconciliation (CSRE 78)
Violence and trauma isolates and segregates us. Part of the healing process must be about coming back into community. Freedom is meaningful only insofar as it lifts all, especially those who have been done the most harm. In times of violence and polarization, art can heal and brings people together. In this course, we will explore how we make and sustain community, especially in the face of threats from within and without. We will do this especially through examining how artists and culture workers of color develop and advance practices that build mutuality, criticality, renewal, trust, and joy in the face of ongoing racial injustice and cultural inequity.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 101:
Black & White Race Relations in American Fiction & Film (AMSTUD 101, CSRE 41)
Movies and the fiction that inspires them; power dynamics behind production including historical events, artistic vision, politics, and racial stereotypes. What images of black and white does Hollywood produce to forge a national identity? How do films promote equality between the races? What is lost or gained in film adaptations of books? NOTE: Students must attend the first day; admission to the class will be determined based on an in class essay.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 102B:
Art and Social Criticism (AMSTUD 102, ARTHIST 162B, CSRE 102A, FEMGEN 102)
Visual artists have long been in the forefront of social criticism in America. Since the 1960s, various visual strategies have helped emergent progressive political movements articulate and represent complex social issues. Which artists and particular art works/projects have become key anchors for discourses on racism, sexism, economic and social inequality, immigrant rights and climate change? We will learn about a spectrum of political art designed to raise social awareness, spark social change and rouse protest. The Art Workers Coalition's agit-prop opposing the Vietnam War and ACT-UP's emblematic signs and symbols during the AIDS/HIV crisis of the 1980s galvanized a generation into action. Works such as Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party (1979), Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum (1992), and Glenn Ligon's paintings appropriating fragments from African-American literature all raised awareness by excavating historical evidence of the long legacy resisting marginalization. For three decades feminist artists Adrian Piper, Barbara Kruger and the Guerilla Girls have combined institutional critique and direct address into a provocative form of criticality. Recent art for social justice is reaching ever broadening publics by redrawing the role of artist and audience exemplified by the democratization of poster making and internet campaigns of Occupy and the Movement for Black Lives. We will also consider the collective aesthetic activisms in the Post-Occupy era including Global Ultra Luxury Faction, Climate Justice art projects, and the visual culture of Trump era mass protests. Why are each of these examples successful as influential and enduring markers of social criticism? What have these socially responsive practices contributed to our understanding of American history?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 117J:
Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film (AMSTUD 117, ASNAMST 117D, CSRE 117D, FEMGEN 117F)
This course introduces students to the theoretical and analytical frameworks necessary to critically understand constructions of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary American film. Through a sustained engagement with a range of independent and Hollywood films produced since the 1990s, students analyze the ways that cinematic representations have both reflected and constructed dominant notions of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States. Utilizing an intersectional framework that sees race, gender, and sexuality as always defined by one another, the course examines the ways that dominant notions of difference have been maintained and contested through film in the United States. Films to be discussed include Better Luck Tomorrow, La La Land, Mosquita y Mari, Get Out, and Moonlight.nTO BE ADDED TO THE WAITLIST: Please email williamgow@stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 133:
Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean (AFRICAST 132, COMPLIT 133A, COMPLIT 233A, FRENCH 133, JEWISHST 143)
This course aims to equip students with an understanding of the cultural, social, and political aspects at play in the literatures of Francophone Africa and the Caribbean of the 20th and 21st century. Our primary readings will be Francophone novels and poetry. We will also read some theoretical texts. The assigned readings will expose students to literature from diverse French-speaking regions of the African/Caribbean world. This course will also serve as a "literary toolbox," with the intention of facilitating an understanding of literary genres, and terms. Students can expect to work on their production of written and spoken French, in addition to reading comprehension. Special guest: Moroccan author Meryem Alaoui. Required readings include: Aime Cesaire, Maryse Condé, Fatou Diome, Dany Laferriere, Leonara Miano, Albert Memmi. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 124 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 145B:
Africa in the 20th Century (HISTORY 145B)
(Same as HISTORY 45B. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 145B.) The challenges facing Africans from when the continent fell under colonial rule until independence. Case studies of colonialism and its impact on African men and women drawn from West, Central, and Southern Africa. Novels, plays, polemics, and autobiographies written by Africans.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AFRICAAM 146D:
New Keywords in African Sound (AFRICAST 146M, CSRE 146D, MUSIC 146M, MUSIC 246M)
This course identifies and considers new keywords for the study of contemporary African music and sound. Each week we will foster discussion around a keyword and a constellation of case studies. The sonic practices we will encounter range from South African house music to Ghanaian honk horns; from Congolese rumba bands to Tunisian trance singers; from listening to the radio in a Tanzanian homestead to making hip hop music videos on the Kenyan coast. By exploring the unexpected interconnections between contemporary African musical communities, we will discuss new keywords arising in current scholarship, including technologies like the amplifier and the hard drive, spaces like the studio and the city, and analytics like pleasure and hotness. We will also engage with established concepts for the study of postcolonial African cultures, including nationalism, cosmopolitanism, globalization, diaspora, and Pan-Africanism. This is a seminar-based course open to graduate students, upper level undergraduate students, and other students with consent of the instructor. Proficiency in music is not required. WIM at 4 units only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AFRICAAM 154G:
Black Magic: Ethnicity, Race, and Identity in Performance Cultures (CSRE 154D, FEMGEN 154G, TAPS 154G)
In 2013, CaShawn Thompson devised a Twitter hashtag, #blackgirlmagic, to celebrate the beauty and intelligence of black women. Twitter users quickly adopted the slogan, using the hashtag to celebrate everyday moments of beauty, accomplishment, and magic. In contrast, #blackmagic is used to describe everything from the uncanny to the personal. This course examines the discursive phenomenon of "black magic" and its permutations throughout Anglo-American histories. We will investigate the binaries of black/dark, white/light magic that has entered our contemporary lexicon, reading material on religion, magic performance, and theater.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 159:
James Baldwin & Twentieth Century Literature (ENGLISH 159, FEMGEN 159)
Black, gay and gifted, Baldwin was hailed as a "spokesman for the race", although he personally, and controversially, eschewed titles and classifications of all kinds. This course examines his classic novels and essays as well his exciting work across many lesser-examined domains - poetry, music, theatre, sermon, photo-text, children's literature, public media, comedy and artistic collaboration. Placing his work in context with other writers of the 20C (Faulkner, Wright,Morrison) and capitalizing on a resurgence of interest in the writer (NYC just dedicated a year of celebration of Baldwin and there are 2 new journals dedicated to study of Baldwin), the course seeks to capture the power and influence of Baldwin's work during the Civil Rights era as well as his relevance in the "post-race" transnational 21st century, when his prescient questioning of the boundaries of race, sex, love, leadership and country assume new urgency.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 159A:
Literature and Protest (CSRE 159I, ENGLISH 159A)
How does literary art get involved in politics? What is the border between propaganda and art? This class examines moments when writers seem suddenly not only to represent politically charged topics and themes, but to have a part in bringing about political change. We¿ll look at case studies from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the American Civil Rights struggle, 19th century Russia, and more.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 181:
Art, Gentrification, & Intersectional Racial Politics (ARTSINST 181, URBANST 181A)
This course addresses the role of artists and art bureaucracies in the gentrification of minority neighborhoods, examining contested sites in New York, Oakland, East LA, and New Orleans. Students consider histories of underdevelopment and displacement, asking what these processes may reveal about greater contests over space, aesthetics, power, and knowledge. The course serves as an opportunity to engage urban cultural politics from the perspectives of critical race theory, queer studies, and feminist critique as well as through encounters with works by William Pope.L, Laura Aguilar, Paul Chan, and others.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 194:
Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: Contemporary Black Rhetorics: Black Twitter and Black Digital Cultures (PWR 194AJ)
Does not fulfill NSC requirement. This course will examine Black engagements with digital culture as sites for community building, social action and individual and collective identity formation. By studying phenomena like #BlackTwitter, memes, Vine, selfie culture, blogging, "social watching," and more, we will explore how Black technology use addresses questions like identity performance and expression, hyper visibility and invisibility of Black lives, Black feminisms, misogynoir and Black women/femme leadership in social movements, the roles and influence of Black Queer cultures online, and social activism and movements in online spaces. nnFrom #YouOKSis, #BlackLivesMatter and #AfroLatinidad to the Clapback, roasts and "reads," we will work from the serious to the silly, from individuals to collectives, from activism to everyday life, and from distinct Black cultures to diasporic connections and exchange. Participants in the course will create a social media autobiography, a "read/ing" of a Black cultural practice or phenomenon online, host an online discussion, and prepare a pitch for a longer research project they might pursue as a thesis or an ongoing study. Bring your GIFs, memes, and emoji, and a willingness to be in community both online and off for this new course! Prerequisite: first level of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 218:
Musics and Appropriation Throughout the World (CSRE 118D, MUSIC 118)
This course critically examines musical practices and appropriation through the amplification of intersectionality. We consider musics globally through recourse to ethnomusicological literature and critical race theories. Our approach begins from an understanding that the social and political contexts where musics are created, disseminated, and consumed inform disparate interpretations and meanings of music, as well as its sounds. Our goal is to shape our ears to hear the effects of slavery, colonialism, capitalism, nationalism, class, gender difference, militarism, and activism. We interrogate the process of appropriating musics throughout the world by making the power structures that shape privileges and exclusions audible.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 226:
Mixed-Race Politics and Culture (AMSTUD 152K, CSRE 152K, ENGLISH 152K)
Today, almost one-third of Americans identify with a racial/ethnic minority group, and more than 9 million Americans identify with multiple races. What are the implications of such diversity for American politics and culture? This course approaches issues of race from an interdisciplinary perspective, employing research in the social sciences and humanities to assess how race shapes perceptions of identity as well as political behavior in 21st-century U.S. Issues surrounding the role of multiculturalism, immigration, acculturation, racial representation, and racial prejudice in American society. Topics include the political and social formation of race; racial representation in the media, arts, and popular culture; the rise and decline of the "one-drop rule" and its effect on political and cultural attachments; the politicization of census categories and the rise of the multiracial movement.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 236B:
Casablanca - Algiers - Tunis : Cities on the Edge (CSRE 140S, FRENCH 236, FRENCH 336, HISTORY 245C, URBANST 140F)
Casablanca, Algiers and Tunis embody three territories, real and imaginary, which never cease to challenge the preconceptions of travelers setting sight on their shores. In this class, we will explore the myriad ways in which these cities of North Africa, on the edge of Europe and of Africa, have been narrated in literature, cinema, and popular culture. We will look at the historical development shaping their respective architecture and why they became the three major urban centers in North Africa. Home to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, they are an ebullient laboratory of social, political, religious, and cultural issues, global and local, between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. We will look at mass images of these cities, from films to maps, novels to photographs, sketching a new vision of these magnets as places where power, social rituals, legacies of the Ottoman and French colonial past, and the influence of the global economy collude and collide. Special focus on class, gender, and race. Open to both undergrad and grad students!
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAAM 258:
Black Feminist Theater and Theory (CSRE 258, FEMGEN 258X, TAPS 258)
From the rave reviews garnered by Angelina Weld Grimke's lynching play, Rachel to recent work by Lynn Nottage on Rwanda, black women playwrights have addressed key issues in modern culture and politics. We will analyze and perform work written by black women in the U.S., Britain and the Caribbean in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include: sexuality, surrealism, colonialism, freedom, violence, colorism, love, history, community and more. Playwrights include: Angelina Grimke, Lorriane Hansberry, Winsome Pinnock, Adrienne Kennedy, Suzan- Lori Parks, Ntzoke Shange, Pearl Cleage, Sarah Jones, Anna DeVeare Smith, Alice Childress, Lydia Diamond and Zora Neale Hurston.)
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAST 58:
Egypt in the Age of Heresy (AFRICAAM 58A, ARCHLGY 58, CLASSICS 58)
Perhaps the most controversial era in ancient Egyptian history, the Amarna period (c.1350-1334 BCE) was marked by great sociocultural transformation, notably the introduction of a new 'religion' (often considered the world's first form of monotheism), the construction of a new royal city, and radical departures in artistic and architectural styles. This course will introduce archaeological and textual sources of ancient Egypt, investigating topics such as theological promotion, projections of power, social structure, urban design, interregional diplomacy, and historical legacy during the inception, height, and aftermath of this highly enigmatic period. Students with or without prior background are equally encouraged.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AFRICAST 132:
Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean (AFRICAAM 133, COMPLIT 133A, COMPLIT 233A, FRENCH 133, JEWISHST 143)
This course aims to equip students with an understanding of the cultural, social, and political aspects at play in the literatures of Francophone Africa and the Caribbean of the 20th and 21st century. Our primary readings will be Francophone novels and poetry. We will also read some theoretical texts. The assigned readings will expose students to literature from diverse French-speaking regions of the African/Caribbean world. This course will also serve as a "literary toolbox," with the intention of facilitating an understanding of literary genres, and terms. Students can expect to work on their production of written and spoken French, in addition to reading comprehension. Special guest: Moroccan author Meryem Alaoui. Required readings include: Aime Cesaire, Maryse Condé, Fatou Diome, Dany Laferriere, Leonara Miano, Albert Memmi. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 124 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AFRICAST 146M:
New Keywords in African Sound (AFRICAAM 146D, CSRE 146D, MUSIC 146M, MUSIC 246M)
This course identifies and considers new keywords for the study of contemporary African music and sound. Each week we will foster discussion around a keyword and a constellation of case studies. The sonic practices we will encounter range from South African house music to Ghanaian honk horns; from Congolese rumba bands to Tunisian trance singers; from listening to the radio in a Tanzanian homestead to making hip hop music videos on the Kenyan coast. By exploring the unexpected interconnections between contemporary African musical communities, we will discuss new keywords arising in current scholarship, including technologies like the amplifier and the hard drive, spaces like the studio and the city, and analytics like pleasure and hotness. We will also engage with established concepts for the study of postcolonial African cultures, including nationalism, cosmopolitanism, globalization, diaspora, and Pan-Africanism. This is a seminar-based course open to graduate students, upper level undergraduate students, and other students with consent of the instructor. Proficiency in music is not required. WIM at 4 units only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AFRICAST 248:
Religion, Radicalization and Media in Africa since 1945 (AFRICAST 348, HISTORY 248, HISTORY 348, RELIGST 230X, RELIGST 330X)
What are the paths to religious radicalization, and what role have media- new and old- played in these conversion journeys? We examine how Pentecostal Christians and Reformist Muslims in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ethiopia have used multiple media forms- newspapers, cell phones, TV, radio, and the internet- to gain new converts, contest the authority of colonial and post-colonial states, construct transnational communities, and position themselves as key political players.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMELANG 126:
Reflection on the Other: The Jew and the Arab in Literature (COMPLIT 145, JEWISHST 106)
How literary works outside the realm of Western culture struggle with questions such as identity, minority, and the issue of the Other. How the Arab is viewed in Hebrew literature, film and music and how the Jew is viewed in Palestinian works in Hebrew or Arabic (in translation to English). Historical, political, and sociological forces that have contributed to the shaping of these writers' views. Guest lectures about the Jew in Palestinian literature and music. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 1B:
Media, Culture, and Society (COMM 1B)
The institutions and practices of mass media, including television, film, radio, and digital media, and their role in shaping culture and social life. The media's shifting relationships to politics, commerce, and identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AMSTUD 12A:
Introduction to English III: Introduction to African American Literature (AFRICAAM 43, ENGLISH 12A)
(Formerly English 43/143). In his bold study, What Was African American Literature?, Kenneth Warren defines African American literature as a late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century response to the nation's Jim Crow segregated order. But in the aftermath of the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights movement, can critics still speak, coherently, of "African American literature"? And how does this political conception of African American literary production compare with accounts grounded in black language and culture? Taking up Warren's intervention, this course will explore African American literature from its earliest manifestations in the spirituals and slave narratives to texts composed at the height of desegregation and decolonization struggles at mid-century and beyond.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 27Q:
Fashion and Photography
Preference to sophomores. Seminar on the history of 20th and 21st century fashion photographs, with a focus on American examples. Topics include: the relationship of fashion and photography to modernity; interplay between mass consumption and luxury; intersection of art and commerce; the role of designers, photographers, editors, and models; studio v. street photography; and the place of mass media, alternative magazines, and online publications. Photographers covered: Edward Steichen, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Steven Meisel, and others. Readings on American culture, film, photography, and fashion.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 41N:
Family Drama: American Plays about Families (ENGLISH 41N, TAPS 40N)
Focus on great dramas about family life (Albee, Kushner, Shephard, Vogel, Kron, Nottage, Parks). Communication in writing and speaking about conflict central to learning in this class.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 48N:
The American Songbook and Love Poetry (ENGLISH 48N)
A study of performances (Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra etc) of songs by classic American composers (Porter, Rogers and Hart, Cohen).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
AMSTUD 51Q:
Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity (COMPLIT 51Q, CSRE 51Q)
We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
AMSTUD 57Q:
10 American Photographs (ARTHIST 57Q)
Preference to sophomores. "The humor, the sadness, the EVERYTHING-ness and American-ness of these pictures!" wrote Jack Kerouac of photographer Robert Frank's iconic collection, The Americans. This seminar takes Kerouac's enthusiasm and applies it to ten American photographs, a new one each week. Examples span the medium's history and were taken as art, science, commerce, journalism, or personal mementos. Close study of the photo of the week will address how it looks and why; its history, from initial responses to later reception; and its relationship to the larger American visual and cultural context. Also under discussion: What story does this set of pictures tell about Americanness? What might another set of photos convey?
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 68N:
Mark Twain and American Culture (ENGLISH 68N)
Preference to freshmen. Mark Twain defined the rhythms of our prose and the contours of our moral map. He recognized our extravagant promise and stunning failures, our comic foibles and tragic flaws. He is viewed as the most American of American authors--and as one of the most universal. How does his work illuminate his society's (and our society's) responses to such issues as race, gender, technology, heredity vs. environment, religion, education, art, imperialism, animal welfare, and what it means to be "American"?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 75N:
American Short Stories (ENGLISH 75N)
How and why did the short story take root and flourish in an American context? Early works of classic American literature read alongside stories by women and minority writers, stretching from the early nineteenth century to the contemporary period.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 101:
Black & White Race Relations in American Fiction & Film (AFRICAAM 101, CSRE 41)
Movies and the fiction that inspires them; power dynamics behind production including historical events, artistic vision, politics, and racial stereotypes. What images of black and white does Hollywood produce to forge a national identity? How do films promote equality between the races? What is lost or gained in film adaptations of books? NOTE: Students must attend the first day; admission to the class will be determined based on an in class essay.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 102:
Art and Social Criticism (AFRICAAM 102B, ARTHIST 162B, CSRE 102A, FEMGEN 102)
Visual artists have long been in the forefront of social criticism in America. Since the 1960s, various visual strategies have helped emergent progressive political movements articulate and represent complex social issues. Which artists and particular art works/projects have become key anchors for discourses on racism, sexism, economic and social inequality, immigrant rights and climate change? We will learn about a spectrum of political art designed to raise social awareness, spark social change and rouse protest. The Art Workers Coalition's agit-prop opposing the Vietnam War and ACT-UP's emblematic signs and symbols during the AIDS/HIV crisis of the 1980s galvanized a generation into action. Works such as Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party (1979), Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum (1992), and Glenn Ligon's paintings appropriating fragments from African-American literature all raised awareness by excavating historical evidence of the long legacy resisting marginalization. For three decades feminist artists Adrian Piper, Barbara Kruger and the Guerilla Girls have combined institutional critique and direct address into a provocative form of criticality. Recent art for social justice is reaching ever broadening publics by redrawing the role of artist and audience exemplified by the democratization of poster making and internet campaigns of Occupy and the Movement for Black Lives. We will also consider the collective aesthetic activisms in the Post-Occupy era including Global Ultra Luxury Faction, Climate Justice art projects, and the visual culture of Trump era mass protests. Why are each of these examples successful as influential and enduring markers of social criticism? What have these socially responsive practices contributed to our understanding of American history?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 104:
America at Play: A History of Leisure in the United States
What we call "free time" is actually the product of multiple constraints, from economics and gender roles, to trends, moral strictures, and more. This course studies leisure to explore American culture from the late 19th century to the present. We consider, for instance, how new forms of entertainment, such as movies and iPods, altered notions of community and ideals of personal expression. For historical context, the class draws upon popular and critical sources, conversations with guests, and hands-on activities.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 109Q:
American Road Trips (HISTORY 69Q)
"Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road." --Jack Kerouac, On the Road, 1957. From Jack Kerouac's On the Road to Cheryl Strayed's Wild, this course explores epic road trips of the twentieth century. Travel is a fundamental social and cultural practice through which Americans have constructed ideas about the self, the nation, the past, and the future. The open road, as it is often called, offered excitement, great adventure, and the space for family bonding and memory making. But the footloose and fancy-free nature of travel that Jack Kerouac celebrated was available to some travelers but not to all. Engaging historical and literary texts, film, autobiography, memoir, photography, and music, we will consider the ways that travel and road trips have been represented in American culture. This course examines the following questions: How did men and women experience travel differently? How did the motivations for travel change over time? What role did race, ethnicity, class, relationships, and sexuality play in these trips? Students will work together to plan a road trip of their own which the class will take during the quarter.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 114X:
Reading Comics (FILMSTUD 114, FILMSTUD 314)
The modern medium of comics, a history that spans 150 years. The flexibility of the medium encountered through the genres of humorous and dramatic comic strips, superheroes, undergrounds, independents, journalism, and autobiography. Innovative creators including McCay, Kirby, Barry, Ware, and critical writings including McCloud, Eisner, Groenstee. Topics include text/image relations, panel-to-panel relations, the page, caricature, sequence, seriality, comics in the context of the fine arts, and relations to other media.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 117:
Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film (AFRICAAM 117J, ASNAMST 117D, CSRE 117D, FEMGEN 117F)
This course introduces students to the theoretical and analytical frameworks necessary to critically understand constructions of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary American film. Through a sustained engagement with a range of independent and Hollywood films produced since the 1990s, students analyze the ways that cinematic representations have both reflected and constructed dominant notions of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States. Utilizing an intersectional framework that sees race, gender, and sexuality as always defined by one another, the course examines the ways that dominant notions of difference have been maintained and contested through film in the United States. Films to be discussed include Better Luck Tomorrow, La La Land, Mosquita y Mari, Get Out, and Moonlight.nTO BE ADDED TO THE WAITLIST: Please email williamgow@stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 117R:
Christianity in 21st-century America (RELIGST 117)
As the largest religion practiced in the United States, Christianity not only shapes the lives of a large number of its citizens but also impinges on public discourse, policies, and debates. This course investigates the ways in which Christianity in America is changing and what these changes bode for its role in the public and private spheres. Issues include shifting demographics lead to declining numbers in 'mainline' denominations; the polarization of Christian conservatives and religious 'nones'; interfaith toleration and cooperation alongside interreligious conflict; the rise of 'spiritual, not religious' young adults; the effects of immigration; religion and science.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 124A:
The American West (ARTHIST 152, ENGLISH 124, HISTORY 151, POLISCI 124A)
The American West is characterized by frontier mythology, vast distances, marked aridity, and unique political and economic characteristics. This course integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of Western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges. Students examine themes fundamental to understanding the region: time, space, water, peoples, and boom and bust cycles.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AMSTUD 124B:
European and North African Visions of the American West (COMPLIT 124B, DLCL 124B)
This course is an interdisciplinary investigation of the rewriting of the American West in the Mediterranean context through the transnational lenses of filmmakers and artists of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds, through primarily cinema, but also graphic novels, novels, and murals. How do these films and novels adopt and adapt the Western genre? How do these artistic endeavors tell us about the enduring aura and stereotypes of the American West mythology? Films: Jacques Audiard, The Sisters Brothers, Sergio Leone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, David Oelhoffen, Far From Men, Karl May, Winnetou, Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist, Agnès Varda, Mur murs. Special guest: photographer/street artist JR. Readings: Mark Twain, Joan Didion, Romain Gary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 127:
American Style and the Rhetoric of Fashion (ARTHIST 165B, FILMSTUD 165B)
Focus on the visual culture of fashion, especially in an American context. Topics include: the representation of fashion in different visual media (prints, photographs, films, window displays, and digital images); the relationship of fashion to its historical context and American culture; the interplay between fashion and other modes of discourse, in particular art, but also performance, music, economics; and the use of fashion as an expression of social status, identity, and other attributes of the wearer. Texts by Thorstein Veblen, Roland Barthes, Dick Hebdige, and other theorists of fashion.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 132:
American Art and Culture, 1528-1910 (ARTHIST 132, ARTHIST 332)
The visual arts and literature of the U.S. from the beginnings of European exploration to the Civil War. Focus is on questions of power and its relation to culture from early Spanish exploration to the rise of the middle classes. Cabeza de Vaca, Benjamin Franklin, John Singleton Copley, Phillis Wheatley, Charles Willson Peale, Emerson, Hudson River School, American Genre painters, Melville, Hawthorne and others.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 133:
Technology and American Visual Culture (FILMSTUD 133B)
An exploration of the dynamic relationship between technology and the ways we see and represent the world, with a focus on American visual culture from the 19th century through the present. We study the history of different tools from telescopes and microscopes to digital detectors that have changed and enhanced our visual capabilities; the way technological shifts, such as the introduction of electric lights or train travel, have shaped our visual imagination and aesthetic sensibilities; and how technology has inspired or responded to visual art. Special attention is paid to how different media, such as photography, cinema, and computer screens, translate the visual experience into a representation; the automation of vision; and the intersection of technology with notions of time and space.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 134C:
The Western: Imagining the West in Fiction and Film (ENGLISH 134C)
The Wild West: a mythical place seared deep into the American imagination. Its familiar tropes lone riders on horseback, desert sunsets, saloon fights, train robberies echo through countless Western stories, novels, films, radio programs, and television series. Both formulaic and flexible, the Western has endured as a popular genre in American culture for more than a century, embodying and responding to many of the nation's broader anxieties surrounding its colonial history, its notions of masculinity and gender roles, its fascination with guns and violence, and its ideals of self-reliance and individualism. In this class we'll examine the Western genre through a selection of its central works in fiction and film, from the first dime novel Western, Ann S. Stephens Malaeska (1860), to Cormac McCarthy¿s acclaimed Blood Meridian (1985); and from the first silent film Western, Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903), to the mid-century Hollywood films of John Ford, to Maggie Greenwald¿s feminist Western, The Ballad of Little Jo (1993). Along the way we'll examine the Western as both a literary form and a cultural phenomenon, probing the history of its enduring appeal as a genre. How do these novels and films construct, adapt, and subvert the form and expectations of the Western, and how do they both perpetuate and challenge the broader cultural problems of their, and our, time? Finally, as Californians and inheritors of the nation's westward expansion, what does the Western tell us about national myths of the West, and the place in which we live?
Last offered: Summer 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 139B:
American Women Writers, 1850-1920 (ENGLISH 139B, FEMGEN 139B)
This course traces the ways in which female writers negotiated a series of literary, social, and intellectual movements, from abolitionism and sentimentalism in the nineteenth century to Progressivism and avant-garde modernism in the twentieth. Authors include Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Rebecca Harding Davis, Emily Dickinson, Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein, Willa Cather, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 143A:
American Architecture (ARTHIST 143A, ARTHIST 343A, CEE 32R)
A historically based understanding of what defines American architecture. What makes American architecture American, beginning with indigenous structures of pre-Columbian America. Materials, structure, and form in the changing American context. How these ideas are being transformed in today's globalized world.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 143M:
American Indian Mythology, Legend, and Lore (ENGLISH 43A, ENGLISH 143A, NATIVEAM 143A)
(English majors and others taking 5 units, register for 143A.) Readings from American Indian literatures, old and new. Stories, songs, and rituals from the 19th century, including the Navajo Night Chant. Tricksters and trickster stories; war, healing, and hunting songs; Aztec songs from the 16th century. Readings from modern poets and novelists including N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, and Leslie Marmon Silko, and the classic autobiography, "Black Elk Speaks."
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 143X:
Starstuff: Space and the American Imagination (ARTHIST 264B, FILMSTUD 264B)
Course on the history of twentieth and twenty-first century American images of space and how they shape conceptions of the universe. Covers representations made by scientists and artists, as well as scientific fiction films, TV, and other forms of popular visual culture. Topics will include the importance of aesthetics to understandings of the cosmos; the influence of media and technology on representations; the social, political, and historical context of the images; and the ways representations of space influence notions of American national identity and of cosmic citizenship.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 145:
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley. The site and source of vibrant economic growth and technological innovation. A disruptive force in social, economic, and political systems. An interface between technology and academia, with the the quirky influence of the counterculture in the background. A surprisingly agile cultural behemoth that has reshaped human relationships and hierarchies of all sorts. A brotopia built on the preferences and predilections of rich, geeky white guys. A location with perpetually sunny skies and easy access to beaches and mountains. nnThis seminar will unpack the myths surrounding Silicon Valley by exploring the people, places, industries, and ideas that have shaped it from post-WWII to the present. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject and considers region's history and development; the products of Silicon Valley, from computers and circuit boards to search algorithms and social networks; and Silicon Valley's depictions in photography, film, television, and literature.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AMSTUD 145D:
Jewish American Literature (ENGLISH 145D, JEWISHST 155D, REES 145D)
From its inception, Jewish-American literature has taken as its subject as well as its context the idea of Jewishness itself. Jewish culture is a diasporic one, and for this reason the concept of Jewishness differs from country to country and across time. What stays remarkably similar, though, is Jewish self-perception and relatedly Jewish literary style. This is as true for the first-generation immigrant writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Anzia Yezierska who came to the United States from abroad as it is for their second-generation children born in the United States, and the children of those children. In this course, we will consider the difficulties of displacement for the emigrant generation and their efforts to sustain their cultural integrity in the multicultural American environment. We'll also examine the often comic revolt of their American-born children and grandchildren against their (grand-)parents nostalgia and failure to assimilate. Only by considering these transnational roots can one understand the particularity of the Jewish-American novel in relation to mainstream and minority American literatures. In investigating the link between American Jewish writers and their literary progenitors, we will draw largely but not exclusively from Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 145M:
Culture Wars: Art and Social Conflict in the USA, 1890-1950 (ARTHIST 145, ARTHIST 345, FEMGEN 145)
This course examines social conflicts and political controversies in American culture through the lens of visual art and photography. We consider how visual images both reflect and participate in the social and political life of the nation and how the terms of citizenship have been represented¿and, at times, contested¿by artists throughout the first half of the 20th century. The class explores the relation between American art and the body politic by focusing on issues of poverty, war, censorship, consumerism, class identity, and racial division.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 146A:
Steinbeck (ENGLISH 146A)
Introduction to the work of an American writer, beloved by general readers, often reviled by critics, whose career spanned from the Great Depression through World War II to the social upheavals of the 1960s. Focus on the social and political contexts of Steinbeck's major works; his fascination with California and Mexico; his interdisciplinary interest in marine biology and in philosophy; his diverse experiments with literary form, including drama and film.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 150:
Introduction to English II: American Literature and Culture to 1855 (ENGLISH 11B)
(Formerly English 23/123). A survey of early American writings, including sermons, poetry, captivity and slave narratives, essays, autobiography, and fiction, from the colonial era to the eve of the Civil War.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 150A:
Colonial and Revolutionary America (HISTORY 150A)
(Same as HISTORY 50A. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for HISTORY 150A.) Survey of the origins of American society and polity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Topics: the migration of Europeans and Africans and the impact on native populations; the emergence of racial slavery and of regional, provincial, Protestant cultures; and the political origins and constitutional consequences of the American Revolution.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
AMSTUD 151:
Migration and Diaspora in American Art, 1800-Present (ARTHIST 151, ARTHIST 351, ASNAMST 151D, CSRE 151D)
This lecture course explores American art through the lens of immigration, exile, and diaspora. We will examine a wide range of work by immigrant artists and craftsmen, paying special attention to issues of race and ethnicity, assimilation, displacement, and political turmoil. Artists considered include Emmanuel Leutze, Thomas Cole, Joseph Stella, Chiura Obata, Willem de Kooning, Mona Hatoum, and Julie Mehretu, among many others. How do works of art reflect and help shape cultural and individual imaginaries of home and belonging?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 151F:
Angelheaded Hipsters: Beat Writers of San Francisco and New York (ENGLISH 151F)
Reading of central writers of the Beat movement (Ginsberg, Kerouac, di Prima, Snyder, Whalen) as well as some related writers (Creeley, Gunn, Levertov). Issues explored include NY and SF, Buddhism and leftist politics, poetry and jazz. Some exposure to reading poems to jazz accompaniment. Examination of some of the writers and performers growing out of the Beats: Bob Dylan, rock music, especially from San Francisco, and jazz.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
AMSTUD 152K:
Mixed-Race Politics and Culture (AFRICAAM 226, CSRE 152K, ENGLISH 152K)
Today, almost one-third of Americans identify with a racial/ethnic minority group, and more than 9 million Americans identify with multiple races. What are the implications of such diversity for American politics and culture? This course approaches issues of race from an interdisciplinary perspective, employing research in the social sciences and humanities to assess how race shapes perceptions of identity as well as political behavior in 21st-century U.S. Issues surrounding the role of multiculturalism, immigration, acculturation, racial representation, and racial prejudice in American society. Topics include the political and social formation of race; racial representation in the media, arts, and popular culture; the rise and decline of the "one-drop rule" and its effect on political and cultural attachments; the politicization of census categories and the rise of the multiracial movement.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 154X:
The American Civil War: A Visual History (ARTHIST 154, ARTHIST 354)
A painting of men charging across a field, a photograph of dead bodies in a ditch, a fragment of metal, a sliver of bone, and a brass button: how do we make sense of the visual record of the American Civil War (1861-65)? From the Capitol Dome to a skeleton dug up in a highway project a hundred years after the last battle, the course will consider the strange and scattered remnants of a famous era. Drawing on the poetry of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Herman Melville, the paintings of Winslow Homer, the photographs of Alexander Gardner, and the oratory of Abraham Lincoln, the course will examine what cannot be portrayed: the trauma of war.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 155C:
Abstract Expressionism: Painting/Modern/America (ARTHIST 155C)
The course will focus on American abstract painting from the 1930s to the 1960s, emphasizing the works of art at the Anderson Collection at Stanford. We will focus on looking closely at pictures by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and other renowned abstract painters, developing skills of speaking and writing about these works of art. We will also place these pictures in their mid-20th century context: World War II and the Cold War; Hollywood and popular culture generally; Beat literature; and locations such as New York and San Francisco.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 159X:
American Photographs, 1839-1971: A Cultural History (ARTHIST 159, ARTHIST 359)
This course concentrates on many important American photographers, from the era of daguerreotypes to near the end of the pre-digital era. We study photographs of the Civil War, western exploration, artistic subjects, urban and rural poverty, skyscrapers, crime, fashion, national parks, and social protest, among other topics. Among the photographers we study: Carleton Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Garry Winogrand, and Diane Arbus. Emphasis on developing students' abilities to discuss and write about photography; to see it.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
AMSTUD 178:
Ethnicity and Dissent in United States Art and Literature (ARTHIST 178, ARTHIST 378)
The role of the visual arts of the U.S. in the construction and contesting of racial, class, and gender hierarchies. Focus is on artists and writers from the 18th century to 1990s. How power, domination, and resistance work historically. Topics include: minstrelsy and the invention of race; mass culture and postmodernity; hegemony and language; memory and desire; and the borderlands.
Last offered: Spring 2004
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 183:
Re- Imagining American Borders (CSRE 183, FEMGEN 183)
In this second volatile and violent year of the Trump presidency, American borders of all kinds seem to be dangerously tight. Immigrant travel bans and ICE deportations, mass incarceration, gendered violence, racialized attacks, urban and rural divisions emphasizing class, and constant social media anger all underscore a vision of an America of intractable difference. This course investigates sources of these borderlines and most crucially how novelists, filmmakers, poets, visual artists and essayists perceive racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, religious and class borders in this country as they may ¿re-imagine¿ difference possibly via Vijay Prashad¿s ¿polyculturalism¿ or Gloria Anzaldùa¿s ¿borderlands.¿ Texts include those of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Boots Riley, Dee Rees, Ryan Coogler, Magdalena Gomez, Janice Lobo Sapigao, Layli Long Soldier, Naomi Shihab Nye, Edwidge Danticat, Sherman Alexie, Shailja Patel, Beyonce, Kara Walker, and the podcast ¿Ear Hustle,¿ narratives created and produced from inside San Quentin. Course work includes active discussion, journal entries, one comparative analytical essay and a creative final project/with analytical paper examining personal or community identities.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
AMSTUD 186D:
Asian American Art: 1850-Present (ARTHIST 186B, ASNAMST 186B)
In 1968, the Asian American Political Alliance began a successful campaign to jettison the designation "oriental" in favor of "Asian American." Given the term's recent genesis, what do we refer to when we discuss "Asian American art," and how can we speak of its history? This lecture class will explore these questions by considering artists, craftsmen, and laborers of Asian descent in the United States, beginning with Chinese immigration to California in the mid-nineteenth century, and extending through our current moment of globalization. We will consider their work alongside art and visual culture of the United States that engages "Asia" as a place, idea, or fantasy. Special attention will be paid to the crucial role Asia and Asian Americans played in movements including photography in San Francisco, Abstract Expressionism, Beat Culture, performance art, and New Queer Cinema. Artists include Chiura Obata, Isamu Noguchi, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Manuel Ocampo, Zarina, and Wu Tsang, among many others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ANTHRO 1:
Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology (ANTHRO 201)
This course introduces basic anthropological concepts and presents the discipline¿s distinctive perspective on society and culture. The power of this perspective is illustrated by exploring vividly-written ethnographic cases that show how anthropological approaches illuminate contemporary social and political issues in a range of different cultural sites.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ANTHRO 1S:
Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology (ANTHRO 101S)
This course introduces basic anthropological concepts and presents the discipline's distinctive perspective on society and culture. The power of this perspective is illustrated by exploring vividly-written ethnographic cases that show how anthropological approaches illuminate contemporary social and political issues in a range of different cultural sites.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ANTHRO 3:
Introduction to Archaeology (ARCHLGY 1)
Aims, methods, and data in the study of human society's development from early hunters through late prehistoric civilizations. Archaeological sites and remains characteristic of the stages of cultural development for selected geographic areas, emphasizing methods of data collection and analysis appropriate to each.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ANTHRO 82P:
The Literature of Psychosis (HUMBIO 162L, PSYC 82, PSYC 282)
One of the great gifts of literature is its ability to give us insight into the internal worlds of others. This is particularly true of that state clinicians call "psychosis." But psychosis is a complex concept. It can be terrifying and devastating for patients and families, and yet shares characteristics with other, less pathological states, such as mysticism and creativity. How then can we begin to make sense of it? In this course, we will examine the first-hand experience of psychosis. We will approach it from multiple perspectives, including clinical descriptions, works of art, and texts by writers ranging from Shakespeare, to the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, to patients attempting to describe their experience. This class is not only for students thinking of careers in medicine, psychology or anthropology, but also readers and writers interested exploring extraordinary texts. There are no prerequisites necessary; all that is needed is a love of language and a curiosity about the secrets of other minds.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
ANTHRO 101S:
Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology (ANTHRO 1S)
This course introduces basic anthropological concepts and presents the discipline's distinctive perspective on society and culture. The power of this perspective is illustrated by exploring vividly-written ethnographic cases that show how anthropological approaches illuminate contemporary social and political issues in a range of different cultural sites.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ANTHRO 113B:
Religious Practices in Archaeological Cultures (ANTHRO 213B, ARCHLGY 113B)
According to Hawkes (1954), religion or ideology is the most difficult part of social life to access archaeologically. Luckily, not all scholars agree; according to Fogelin (2008) 'religion is not something people think about, but something people do¿. Thus, archaeology, an inherently multidisciplinary subject that studies material culture, is well suited to delve into religion and its underpinnings.nThis course will explore religious practices, as they can be defined and interpreted from archaeological contexts spanning the Paleolithic to historic periods. Definitions of religion differ from author to author but they mostly agree that religion is a fully integrated and thus integral part of human social life. Politics, economics, identity and social class influence religion, and religion influences how these forces play out in society. Thus, the course will also examine the significance of ritual and religion in a variety of social contexts.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ANTHRO 127D:
HERITAGE POLITICS (ARCHLGY 127, ARCHLGY 227)
Heritage is a matter of the heart and not the brain, David Lowenthal once said. It does not seek to explore the past, but to domesticate it and enlist it for present causes. From the drafting of the first royal decrees on ancient monuments in the 17th century, political interests have had a hand in deciding which traditions, monuments and sites best represent and best serve the needs of the nation. The sum of these domestication efforts, the laws, institutions and practices established to protect and manage heritage, is what we call heritage governance. In this seminar you will learn about the politics of 21st century heritage governance at national and international level. Students will become familiar with key conventions and learn about the functioning of heritage institutions. We will also examine the hidden practices and current political developments that impact heritage governance: how UNESCO heritage sites become bargaining tools in international relations, how EU heritage policies are negotiated in the corridors of Brussels, and how the current re-nationalization of Western politics can affect what we come to know as our common past.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ANTHRO 128:
Visual Studies
Drawing on anthropology, art history, cultural studies, and other fields, this course explores how and why one might want to think critically about the politics of visuality, social imagination, the politics of making and consuming images and things, iconophonia and iconophilia, the classification of people and things into 'artists' and 'art', and cultural production more generally.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II
ANTHRO 146J:
Studies in Ethnomusicology: Listening to the Local: Music Ethnography of the Bay Area (CSRE 146J, MUSIC 146J, MUSIC 246J)
An introduction to music ethnography through student research on musical life in the Bay Area. Focus is on the intersections of music, social life, and cultural practice by engaging with people as they perform music and culture in situ. Techniques taught include participant-observation, interviewing and oral history, writing field-notes, recording, transcription, analysis, and ethnographic writing. Pre-/co-requisite (for music majors): MUSIC 22. (WIM at 4 units only.)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARCHLGY 1:
Introduction to Archaeology (ANTHRO 3)
Aims, methods, and data in the study of human society's development from early hunters through late prehistoric civilizations. Archaeological sites and remains characteristic of the stages of cultural development for selected geographic areas, emphasizing methods of data collection and analysis appropriate to each.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARCHLGY 21Q:
Eight Great Archaeological Sites in Europe (CLASSICS 21Q)
Preference to sophomores. Focus is on excavation, features and finds, arguments over interpretation, and the place of each site in understanding the archaeological history of Europe. Goal is to introduce the latest archaeological and anthropological thought, and raise key questions about ancient society. The archaeological perspective foregrounds interdisciplinary study: geophysics articulated with art history, source criticism with analytic modeling, statistics interpretation. A web site with resources about each site, including plans, photographs, video, and publications, is the basis for exploring.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, Writing 2
ARCHLGY 58:
Egypt in the Age of Heresy (AFRICAAM 58A, AFRICAST 58, CLASSICS 58)
Perhaps the most controversial era in ancient Egyptian history, the Amarna period (c.1350-1334 BCE) was marked by great sociocultural transformation, notably the introduction of a new 'religion' (often considered the world's first form of monotheism), the construction of a new royal city, and radical departures in artistic and architectural styles. This course will introduce archaeological and textual sources of ancient Egypt, investigating topics such as theological promotion, projections of power, social structure, urban design, interregional diplomacy, and historical legacy during the inception, height, and aftermath of this highly enigmatic period. Students with or without prior background are equally encouraged.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARCHLGY 75Q:
Mad Dogs and Englishmen: Archaeology and the Modern History of the Ancient Near East
The decades between the early-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries saw substantial change in the region Europeans referred to as the Near East, characterized by the decline of the Ottoman empire, the disarray of World War I, and the establishment of modern national borders. You will learn to analyze, interpret, and critically evaluate archaeological data and the ways in which that data is used to construct an historical narrative. Readings include ancient texts in translation; archaeological field records and reports; travelogues, personal letters and autobiographies; and scholarly articles on the art and archaeology of the Near East.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARCHLGY 106A:
Museums and Collections (ARCHLGY 306A)
Practical, theoretical, and ethical issues which face museums and collections. Practical collections-based work, museum visits, and display research. The roles of the museum in contemporary society. Students develop their own exhibition and engage with the issues surrounding the preservation of material culture.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ARCHLGY 109:
Religions of Ancient Eurasia (CLASSICS 165)
This course will explore archaeological evidence for the ritual and religions of Ancient Eurasia, including Greco-Roman polytheism, early Christianity, and early Buddhism. Each week, we will discuss the most significant themes, methods, and approaches that archaeologists are now using to study religious beliefs and rituals. Examples will focus on the everyday social, material, and symbolic aspects of religion. The course will also consider the role of archaeological heritage in religious conflicts today and the ethical dilemmas of archaeology in the 21st century.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARCHLGY 113B:
Religious Practices in Archaeological Cultures (ANTHRO 113B, ANTHRO 213B)
According to Hawkes (1954), religion or ideology is the most difficult part of social life to access archaeologically. Luckily, not all scholars agree; according to Fogelin (2008) 'religion is not something people think about, but something people do¿. Thus, archaeology, an inherently multidisciplinary subject that studies material culture, is well suited to delve into religion and its underpinnings.nThis course will explore religious practices, as they can be defined and interpreted from archaeological contexts spanning the Paleolithic to historic periods. Definitions of religion differ from author to author but they mostly agree that religion is a fully integrated and thus integral part of human social life. Politics, economics, identity and social class influence religion, and religion influences how these forces play out in society. Thus, the course will also examine the significance of ritual and religion in a variety of social contexts.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARCHLGY 118:
Engineering the Roman Empire (CLASSICS 168)
(Formerly CLASSART 117.) Enter the mind, the drafting room, and the building site of the Roman architects and engineers whose monumental projects impressed ancient and modern spectators alike. This class explores the interrelated aesthetics and mechanics of construction that led to one of the most extensive building programs undertaken by a pre-modern state. Through case studies ranging from columns, domes and obelisks to road networks, machines and landscape modification, we investigate the materials, methods, and knowledge behind Roman innovation, and the role of designed space in communicating imperial identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARCHLGY 127:
HERITAGE POLITICS (ANTHRO 127D, ARCHLGY 227)
Heritage is a matter of the heart and not the brain, David Lowenthal once said. It does not seek to explore the past, but to domesticate it and enlist it for present causes. From the drafting of the first royal decrees on ancient monuments in the 17th century, political interests have had a hand in deciding which traditions, monuments and sites best represent and best serve the needs of the nation. The sum of these domestication efforts, the laws, institutions and practices established to protect and manage heritage, is what we call heritage governance. In this seminar you will learn about the politics of 21st century heritage governance at national and international level. Students will become familiar with key conventions and learn about the functioning of heritage institutions. We will also examine the hidden practices and current political developments that impact heritage governance: how UNESCO heritage sites become bargaining tools in international relations, how EU heritage policies are negotiated in the corridors of Brussels, and how the current re-nationalization of Western politics can affect what we come to know as our common past.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARCHLGY 134:
Museum Cultures: Material Representation in the Past and Present (ARCHLGY 234, ARTHIST 284B)
Students will open the "black box" of museums to consider the past and present roles of institutional collections, culminating in a student-curated exhibition. Today, museums assert their relevance as dynamic spaces for debate and learning. Colonialism and restitution, the politics of representation, human/object relationships, and changing frameworks of authority make museum work widely significant and consistently challenging. Through thinking-in-practice, this course reflexively explores "museum cultures": representations of self and other within museums and institutional cultures of the museum world itself.n3 credits (no final project) or 5 credits (final project). May be repeat for credit
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
ARCHLGY 151:
Ten Things: An Archaeology of Design
(Formerly CLASSART 113/213.) Connections among science, technology, society and culture by examining the design of a prehistoric hand axe, Egyptian pyramid, ancient Greek perfume jar, medieval castle, Wedgewood teapot, Edison's electric light bulb, computer mouse, Sony Walkman, supersonic aircraft, and BMW Mini. Interdisciplinary perspectives include archaeology, cultural anthropology, science studies, history and sociology of technology, cognitive science, and evolutionary psychology.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARCHLGY 166:
The Body in Roman Art (CLASSICS 166)
(Formerly CLASSART 105.) Ancient and modern ideas about the body as ideal and site of lived experience. Themes include representation, portrayal, power, metamorphosis, and replication. Works that exemplify Roman ideas of heroism and power versus works portraying nude women, erotic youth, preserved corpses, and suffering enemies. Recommended: background in ancient Mediterranean art, archaeology, history, or literature. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
ARTHIST 1A:
Introduction to the Visual Arts: Prehistoric through Medieval (CLASSICS 56)
A survey of the art and architecture from the cave paintings of Lascaux to the Gothic Cathedrals of France; the material is organized both chronologically and thematically and covers a multiplicity of religions: pagan, Christian, and Islamic.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 1B:
Introduction to the Visual Arts: History of Western Art from the Renaissance to the Present
This course surveys the history of Western painting from the start of the 14th century to the late 20th century and our own moment. Lectures introduce important artists (Giotto, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Goya, Manet, Matisse, Pollock, and others), and major themes associated with the art of particular periods and cultures. The course emphasizes training students to look closely at - and to write about - works of art.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 2:
Asian Arts and Cultures (JAPAN 60)
An introduction to major monuments, themes, styles, and media of East and South Asian visual arts, in their social, literary, religious, and political contexts. Through close study of primary monuments of architectural, pictorial, and sculptural arts and related texts, this course will explore ritual and mortuary arts; Buddhist arts across Asia; narrative and landscape images; and courtly, urban, monastic, and studio environments for art from Bronze Age to modern eras.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 3:
Introduction to World Architecture (CLASSICS 54)
This course offers an expansive introduction to architecture and urban design from the earliest human constructions to the mid-20th century. The examples range from the Americas to Europe and the Middle East and Asia. The business of architecture, its structure and materials, are addressed in each case, because designs have to leave the paper to achieve a presence in the world, and an overriding concern is to understand architecture as a sensible manifestation of particular cultures, whether societies or individuals. To the same ends, student writing assignments will involve the analysis of local space, whether a room or a building, and then the built environment at large.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 57Q:
10 American Photographs (AMSTUD 57Q)
Preference to sophomores. "The humor, the sadness, the EVERYTHING-ness and American-ness of these pictures!" wrote Jack Kerouac of photographer Robert Frank's iconic collection, The Americans. This seminar takes Kerouac's enthusiasm and applies it to ten American photographs, a new one each week. Examples span the medium's history and were taken as art, science, commerce, journalism, or personal mementos. Close study of the photo of the week will address how it looks and why; its history, from initial responses to later reception; and its relationship to the larger American visual and cultural context. Also under discussion: What story does this set of pictures tell about Americanness? What might another set of photos convey?
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 100N:
The Artist in Ancient Greek Society (CLASSICS 18N)
Given the importance of art to all aspects of their lives, the Greeks had reason to respect their artists. Yet potters, painters and even sculptors possessed little social standing. n nWhy did the Greeks value the work of craftsmen but not the men themselves? Why did Herodotus dismiss those who worked with their hands as "mechanics?" What prompted Homer to claim that "there is no greater glory for a man¿ than what he achieves with his own hands," provided that he was throwing a discus and not a vase on a wheel?n nPainted pottery was essential to the religious and secular lives of the Greeks. Libations to the gods and to the dead required vases from which to pour them. Economic prosperity depended on the export of wine and oil in durable clay containers. At home, depictions of gods and heroes on vases reinforced Greek values and helped parents to educate their children. Ceramic sets with scenes of Dionysian excess were reserved for elite symposia from which those who potted and painted them were excluded.n nSculptors were less lowly but even those who carved the Parthenon were still regarded as "mechanics," with soft bodies and soft minds (Xenophon) "indifferent to higher things" (Plutarch).n nThe seminar addresses these issues. Students will read and discuss texts, write response papers and present slide lectures and gallery talks on aspects of the artist's profession.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 101:
Introduction to Greek Art I: The Archaic Period (CLASSICS 161)
This lecture course explores Greek art and culture from 1000-480. In the beginning archaic art forms are more abstract than life-like, closer to Calder than Michelangelo. While Homer describes the rippling muscles (and egos) of his heroes, vase-painters and sculptors prefer abstraction. This changes in the 7th C. as a result of commerce with the Near East and Egypt. Imported Near Eastern bronzes and ivories awaken the Greeks to a wider range of subjects, techniques and ambitions. Later in the century, Greeks in Egypt learn to carve hard stone from Egyptian masters. Throughout the 6th C. Greek artists assimilate what they had borrowed, compete with one another, defy their teachers, test the tolerance of the gods and eventually produce works of art that speak with a Greek accent. When the Persians invade the Acropolis in 480, they find artifacts with little trace of alien influence or imprint - omens of the defiant Greek military that would prevail at Salamis and Plataea.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 102:
Introduction to Greek Art II: The Classical Period (CLASSICS 162)
The class begins with the art, architecture and political ideals of Periclean Athens, from the emergence of the city as the political and cultural center of Greece in 450 to its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404. It then considers how Athens and the rest of Greece proceed in the fourth century to rebuild their lives and the monuments that define them. Earlier artistic traditions endure, with subtle changes, in the work of sculptors such as Kephisodotos. Less subtle are the outlook and output of his son Praxiteles. In collaboration with Phryne, his muse and mistress, Praxiteles challenged the canons and constraints of the past with the first female nude in the history of Greek sculpture. His gender-bending depictions of gods and men were equally audacious, their shiny surfaces reflecting Plato¿s discussion of Eros and androgyny. Scopas was also a man of his time but pursued different interests. Drawn to the inner lives of men and woman, his tormented Trojan War heroes and victims are still scarred by memories of the Peloponnesian War, and a world away from the serene faces of the Parthenon. His famous Maenad, a devotee of Dionysos who has left this world for another, belongs to the same years as Euripides' Bacchae and, at the same time, anticipates the torsion and turbulence of Bernini and the Italian Baroque. In the work of these and other fourth century personalities, the stage is set for Alexander the Great and his conquest of a kingdom extending from Greece to the Indus River. (Formerly CLASSART 102)
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 106:
Byzantine Art and Architecture, 300-1453 C.E. (ARTHIST 306, CLASSICS 171)
(Formerly CLASSART 106/206.) This course explores the art and architecture of the Eastern Mediterranean: Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Damascus, Thessaloniki, and Palermo, 4th-15th centuries. Applying an innovative approach, we will probe questions of phenomenology and aesthetics, focusing our discussion on the performance and appearance of spaces and objects in the changing diurnal light, in the glitter of mosaics and in the mirror reflection and translucency of marble.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 106B:
What Do Medieval Images Want? Theories of the Image in Byzantium, Islam, and the Latin West (ARTHIST 306B)
What is an image? The medieval response was tied to religious identity. At the core of the debate was whether the image was just a mimetic representation or a living entity: matter imbued with divine spirit. Byzantium, Islam, and the Latin West each developed their own positions and used it as a platform for political legitimacy. We will study the development of the medieval image theories by focusing on specific monuments and objects and by reading both primary sources in translation and current scholarly interpretations.
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 110:
French Painting from Watteau to Monet (ARTHIST 310, FRENCH 110, FRENCH 310)
This course offers a survey of painting in France from 1700 to around 1900. It introduces major artists, artworks, and the concepts used by contemporary observers and later art historians to make sense of this extraordinarily rich period. Overarching themes discussed in the class will include the dueling legacies of coloristic virtuosity and classical formalism, new ways of representing visual perception, the opposing artistic effects of absorption and theatricality, the rise and fall of official arts institutions, and the participation of artists and artworks in political upheaval and social change. The course ends with an interrogation of the concept of modernity and its emergence out of dialogue and conflict with artists of the past. Students will learn and practice formal analysis of paintings, as well as interpretations stressing historical context.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 114:
Mystical Naturalism: Van Eyck, Dürer, and the Northern Renaissance (ARTHIST 314)
A survey of the major innovations in Northern European painting ca. 1400-1600, in light of the social status of the artist between city and court. In the early fifteenth century painters began to render an idealized world down to its smallest details in ways that engaged new devotional practices. Later Hieronymus Bosch would identify the painter's imagination with the bizarre and grotesque. In response to Renaissance humanism, some painters introduced classical mythology and allegorical subjects in their works, and many traveled south to absorb Italianate pictorial styles. We will be visiting art museums in San Francisco and Stanford. May be repeat for credit.
Last offered: Winter 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
ARTHIST 117:
Picturing the Papacy, 1300-1850 (ARTHIST 317)
Popes deployed art and architecture to glorify their dual spiritual and temporal authority, being both Christ's vicars on earth and rulers of state. After the return of the papacy from Avignon, Rome underwent numerous campaigns of renovation that staged a continuity between the pontiffs and the ancient Roman emperors. Patronage of art and architecture became important tools in the fight against Protestantism. Artists include Botticelli, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Bernini.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
ARTHIST 118:
Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto (ARTHIST 318)
The course addresses the ways in which Venetian painters of the sixteenth century redefined paradigms of color, design, and invention. Themes to be examined include civic piety, new kinds of mythological painting, the intersection between naturalism and eroticism, and the relationship between art and rituals of church and statecraft.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 119:
Love at First Sight: Visual Desire, Attraction, and the Pleasures of Art
Why do dating sites rely on photographs? Why do we believe that love is above all a visual force? How is pleasure, even erotic pleasure, achieved through looking?nnWhile the psychology of impressions offers some answers, this course uncovers the ways poets, songwriters, and especially artists have explored myths and promoted ideas about the coupling of love and seeing. Week by week, we will be reflecting on love as political critique, social disruption, and magical force. And we will do so by examining some of the most iconic works of art, from Dante's writings on lovesickness to Caravaggio's Narcissus, studying the ways that objects have shifted from keepsakes to targets of our cares. While exploring the visual roots and evolutions of what has become one of life's fundamental drives, this course offers a passionate survey of European art from Giotto's kiss to Fragonard's swing that elicits stimulating questions about the sensorial nature of desire and the human struggle to control emotions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 120:
Living in a Material World: Seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish Painting (ARTHIST 320)
Painting and graphic arts by artists in Flanders and Holland from 1600 to 1680, a period of political and religious strife. Historical context; their relationship to developments in the rest of Europe and contributions to the problem of representation. Preferences for particular genres such as portraits, landscapes, and scenes of everyday life; the general problem of realism as manifested in the works studied.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 122:
The Age of Revolution: Painting in Europe 1780-1830 (ARTHIST 322)
Survey of European painting bracketed by the French Revolution and the end of the Napoleonic conquest. Against this background of social upheavel, the visual arts were profoundly affected by shifts in patronage, public, and ideas about the social utility of image making. Lectures and readings align ruptures in the tradition of representation with the unfolding historical situation, and trace the first manifestations of a "romantic" alternative to the classicism that was the cultural legacy of pre-Revolutionary Europe.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 123N:
Thinking about Visual Attention : from Balzac to Facebook
Writing in 1829, the French author Honoré de Balzac celebrated the acute visual attention of the flâneur, a character he closely associates with modern life: "To flâne is to take pleasure, to collect flashes of wit, to admire sublime scenes of unhappiness, of love, of joy as well as graceful or grotesque portraits, to thrust one's attention into the depths of a thousand lives." In July 2012 the Huffington Report pointed to a fact of modern life: "On city streets, in suburban parking lots and in shopping centers, there is usually someone strolling while talking on a phone, texting with his head down, listening to music, or playing a video game. The problem isn't as widely discussed as distracted driving, but the danger is real." These two very different ways of circulating in urban space suggest that a major shift in how we humans relate to our environment has occurred over the course of nearly two centuries--especially in the densely populated spaces of modern cities. Where the great spectacle of urban life was a marvel of the nineteenth century, today's inhabitants want mainly to block it out by insulating themselves in a cocoon of favorite music or personal conversation, whether by voice or text, that they risk stepping into traffic, colliding with lightposts, or bumping into others similarly self-absorbed. This seminar proposes to think about the hows and whys of that important shift from the unique perspective of art history, a field of study especially attuned to the limits and exigencies of visual acuity. We will explore the topic across a range of media, from daguerreotypes to stereoscopes, from paintings to films, from television screen to the hand-held displays of our smartphones.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 124:
The Age of Naturalism, Painting in Europe1830-1874 (ARTHIST 324)
Survey of European painting from the heyday of Romanticism to the first Impressionist exhibition. Lectures and readings focus on the tensions between traditional forms and ambitions of history painting and the challenge of "modern" subjects drawn from contemporary life. Attention to the impact of painting in the open-air, and the effect of new imaging technologies- notably lithography and photography - to provide "popular" alternatives to the hand-wrought character and elitist appeal of "high art" cultural forms.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 132:
American Art and Culture, 1528-1910 (AMSTUD 132, ARTHIST 332)
The visual arts and literature of the U.S. from the beginnings of European exploration to the Civil War. Focus is on questions of power and its relation to culture from early Spanish exploration to the rise of the middle classes. Cabeza de Vaca, Benjamin Franklin, John Singleton Copley, Phillis Wheatley, Charles Willson Peale, Emerson, Hudson River School, American Genre painters, Melville, Hawthorne and others.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 142:
Architecture Since 1900 (CEE 32G)
Art 142 is an introduction to the history of architecture since 1900 and how it has shaped and been shaped by its cultural contexts. The class also investigates the essential relationship between built form and theory during this period.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 143A:
American Architecture (AMSTUD 143A, ARTHIST 343A, CEE 32R)
A historically based understanding of what defines American architecture. What makes American architecture American, beginning with indigenous structures of pre-Columbian America. Materials, structure, and form in the changing American context. How these ideas are being transformed in today's globalized world.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 145:
Culture Wars: Art and Social Conflict in the USA, 1890-1950 (AMSTUD 145M, ARTHIST 345, FEMGEN 145)
This course examines social conflicts and political controversies in American culture through the lens of visual art and photography. We consider how visual images both reflect and participate in the social and political life of the nation and how the terms of citizenship have been represented¿and, at times, contested¿by artists throughout the first half of the 20th century. The class explores the relation between American art and the body politic by focusing on issues of poverty, war, censorship, consumerism, class identity, and racial division.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 147:
Modernism and Modernity (ARTHIST 347)
The development of modern art and visual culture in Europe and the US, beginning with Paris in the 1860s, the period of Haussmann, Baudelaire and Manet, and ending with the Bauhaus and Surrealism in the 1920s and 30s. Modernism in art, architecture and design (e.g., Gauguin, Picasso, Duchamp, Mondrian, Le Corbusier, Breuer, Dali) will be explored as a compelling dream of utopian possibilities involving multifaceted and often ambivalent, even contradictory responses to the changes brought about by industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of mass culture.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 151:
Migration and Diaspora in American Art, 1800-Present (AMSTUD 151, ARTHIST 351, ASNAMST 151D, CSRE 151D)
This lecture course explores American art through the lens of immigration, exile, and diaspora. We will examine a wide range of work by immigrant artists and craftsmen, paying special attention to issues of race and ethnicity, assimilation, displacement, and political turmoil. Artists considered include Emmanuel Leutze, Thomas Cole, Joseph Stella, Chiura Obata, Willem de Kooning, Mona Hatoum, and Julie Mehretu, among many others. How do works of art reflect and help shape cultural and individual imaginaries of home and belonging?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 152:
The American West (AMSTUD 124A, ENGLISH 124, HISTORY 151, POLISCI 124A)
The American West is characterized by frontier mythology, vast distances, marked aridity, and unique political and economic characteristics. This course integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of Western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges. Students examine themes fundamental to understanding the region: time, space, water, peoples, and boom and bust cycles.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARTHIST 154:
The American Civil War: A Visual History (AMSTUD 154X, ARTHIST 354)
A painting of men charging across a field, a photograph of dead bodies in a ditch, a fragment of metal, a sliver of bone, and a brass button: how do we make sense of the visual record of the American Civil War (1861-65)? From the Capitol Dome to a skeleton dug up in a highway project a hundred years after the last battle, the course will consider the strange and scattered remnants of a famous era. Drawing on the poetry of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Herman Melville, the paintings of Winslow Homer, the photographs of Alexander Gardner, and the oratory of Abraham Lincoln, the course will examine what cannot be portrayed: the trauma of war.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 155C:
Abstract Expressionism: Painting/Modern/America (AMSTUD 155C)
The course will focus on American abstract painting from the 1930s to the 1960s, emphasizing the works of art at the Anderson Collection at Stanford. We will focus on looking closely at pictures by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and other renowned abstract painters, developing skills of speaking and writing about these works of art. We will also place these pictures in their mid-20th century context: World War II and the Cold War; Hollywood and popular culture generally; Beat literature; and locations such as New York and San Francisco.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 156A:
Warhol: Painting, Photography, Performance (ARTHIST 356A, TAPS 156A, TAPS 356A)
This course focuses on the career of Andy Warhol as a means to consider the broader history of American art and culture since 1950. It examines little-studied aspects of Warhol¿s visual production (e.g. his career as a commercial artist in the 1950s and his everyday photographs of the 1970s and 1980s) alongside his now-canonical Pop paintings of the 1960s. Warhol?s critical and scholarly reception will be scrutinized in detail, as will published interviews of and writings by the artist. Finally, we will consider Warhol¿s legacy and wide-ranging influence on American culture in the decades since his death in 1987.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 159:
American Photographs, 1839-1971: A Cultural History (AMSTUD 159X, ARTHIST 359)
This course concentrates on many important American photographers, from the era of daguerreotypes to near the end of the pre-digital era. We study photographs of the Civil War, western exploration, artistic subjects, urban and rural poverty, skyscrapers, crime, fashion, national parks, and social protest, among other topics. Among the photographers we study: Carleton Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Garry Winogrand, and Diane Arbus. Emphasis on developing students' abilities to discuss and write about photography; to see it.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 160N:
The Sisters: Poetry & Painting (ENGLISH 51N)
Poetry and painting have often been called the "sister arts". Why? Sometimes a poem or a painting stands out to us, asking that we stay with it, that we remember it, although we cannot exactly say why. Poems have a way of making pictures in the mind, and paintings turn "rhymes" amid the people, places, and things they portray. Each is a concentrated world, inviting an exhilarating closeness of response: why does this line come first? Why does the artist include that detail? Who knows but that as we write and talk about these poems and pictures we will be doing what John Keats said a painter does: that is, arriving at a "trembling delicate and snail-horn perception of Beauty." Each week explore the kinship between a different pair of painter and poet and also focuses on a particular problem or method of interpretation. Some of the artist/poet combinations we will consider: Shakespeare and Caravaggio; Jorie Graham and (the photographer) Henri Cartier-Bresson; Alexander Pope and Thomas Gainsborough; William Wordsworth and Caspar David Friedrich; Christina Rossetti and Mary Cassatt; Walt Whitman and Thomas Eakins; Thomas Hardy and Edward Hopper.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 162B:
Art and Social Criticism (AFRICAAM 102B, AMSTUD 102, CSRE 102A, FEMGEN 102)
Visual artists have long been in the forefront of social criticism in America. Since the 1960s, various visual strategies have helped emergent progressive political movements articulate and represent complex social issues. Which artists and particular art works/projects have become key anchors for discourses on racism, sexism, economic and social inequality, immigrant rights and climate change? We will learn about a spectrum of political art designed to raise social awareness, spark social change and rouse protest. The Art Workers Coalition's agit-prop opposing the Vietnam War and ACT-UP's emblematic signs and symbols during the AIDS/HIV crisis of the 1980s galvanized a generation into action. Works such as Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party (1979), Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum (1992), and Glenn Ligon's paintings appropriating fragments from African-American literature all raised awareness by excavating historical evidence of the long legacy resisting marginalization. For three decades feminist artists Adrian Piper, Barbara Kruger and the Guerilla Girls have combined institutional critique and direct address into a provocative form of criticality. Recent art for social justice is reaching ever broadening publics by redrawing the role of artist and audience exemplified by the democratization of poster making and internet campaigns of Occupy and the Movement for Black Lives. We will also consider the collective aesthetic activisms in the Post-Occupy era including Global Ultra Luxury Faction, Climate Justice art projects, and the visual culture of Trump era mass protests. Why are each of these examples successful as influential and enduring markers of social criticism? What have these socially responsive practices contributed to our understanding of American history?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 164A:
Technology and the Visual Imagination (ARTHIST 364A, FILMSTUD 164A, FILMSTUD 364A)
An exploration of the dynamic relationship between technology and the ways we see and represent the world. The course examines technologies from the Renaissance through the present day, from telescopes and microscopes to digital detectors, that have changed and enhanced our visual capabilities as well as shaped how we imagine the world. We also consider how these technologies influenced and inspired the work of artists. Special attention is paid to how different technologies such as linear perspective, photography, cinema, and computer screens translate the visual experience into a representation; the automation of vision; and the intersection of technology with conceptions of time and space.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 165A:
Fashion Shows: From Lady Godiva to Lady Gaga (ARTHIST 365A, FILMSTUD 165A, FILMSTUD 365A)
The complex and interdependent relationship between fashion and art. Topics include: the ways in which artists have used fashion in different art forms as a means to convey social status, identity, and other attributes of the wearer; the interplay between fashion designers and various art movements, especially in the 20th century; the place of prints, photography, and the Internet in fashion, in particular how different media shape how clothes are seen and perceived. Texts by Thorstein Veblen, Roland Barthes, Dick Hebdige, and other theorists of fashion.
Last offered: Winter 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 165B:
American Style and the Rhetoric of Fashion (AMSTUD 127, FILMSTUD 165B)
Focus on the visual culture of fashion, especially in an American context. Topics include: the representation of fashion in different visual media (prints, photographs, films, window displays, and digital images); the relationship of fashion to its historical context and American culture; the interplay between fashion and other modes of discourse, in particular art, but also performance, music, economics; and the use of fashion as an expression of social status, identity, and other attributes of the wearer. Texts by Thorstein Veblen, Roland Barthes, Dick Hebdige, and other theorists of fashion.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 176:
Feminism and Contemporary Art (ARTHIST 376, CSRE 167, FEMGEN 176)
(Same as ARTHIST 176) The impact of second wave feminism on art making and art historical practice in the 70s, and its reiteration and transformation in contemporary feminist work. Topics: sexism and art history, feminist studio programs in the 70s, essentialism and self-representation, themes of domesticity, the body in feminist art making, bad girls, the exclusion of women of color and lesbians from the art historical mainstream, notions of performativity.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 178:
Ethnicity and Dissent in United States Art and Literature (AMSTUD 178, ARTHIST 378)
The role of the visual arts of the U.S. in the construction and contesting of racial, class, and gender hierarchies. Focus is on artists and writers from the 18th century to 1990s. How power, domination, and resistance work historically. Topics include: minstrelsy and the invention of race; mass culture and postmodernity; hegemony and language; memory and desire; and the borderlands.
Last offered: Spring 2004
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 182B:
Cultures in Competition: Arts of Song-Era China (ARTHIST 382B)
The Song dynasty (mid-10th to late 13th c.) was a period of extraordinary diversity and technical accomplishment in Chinese painting, ceramics, calligraphy, architecture and sculpture. Artistic developments emerged within a context of economic dynamism, urban growth, and competition in dynastic, political, cultural and social arenas ¿ as between Chinese and formerly nomadic neighboring regimes, or between reformers and conservatives. This course will consider major themes and topics in Song art history, including innovations in architectural and ceramic technologies; developments in landscape painting and theory; the rise of educated artists; official arts and ideologies of Song, Liao and Jin court regimes; new roles for women as patrons and cultural participants; and Chan and popular Buddhist imagery.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 186B:
Asian American Art: 1850-Present (AMSTUD 186D, ASNAMST 186B)
In 1968, the Asian American Political Alliance began a successful campaign to jettison the designation "oriental" in favor of "Asian American." Given the term's recent genesis, what do we refer to when we discuss "Asian American art," and how can we speak of its history? This lecture class will explore these questions by considering artists, craftsmen, and laborers of Asian descent in the United States, beginning with Chinese immigration to California in the mid-nineteenth century, and extending through our current moment of globalization. We will consider their work alongside art and visual culture of the United States that engages "Asia" as a place, idea, or fantasy. Special attention will be paid to the crucial role Asia and Asian Americans played in movements including photography in San Francisco, Abstract Expressionism, Beat Culture, performance art, and New Queer Cinema. Artists include Chiura Obata, Isamu Noguchi, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Manuel Ocampo, Zarina, and Wu Tsang, among many others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 188B:
From Shanghai Modern to Global Contemporary: Frontiers of Modern Chinese Art (ARTHIST 388B)
Chinese artistic engagements with international arenas and with the cultural politics of modernity, from the late 19th century to the present. Topics will include Shanghai modernity and public media; artistic reform and political activism at the end of empire; competition between national style painting and international modernisms; politicized arts of resistance and revolution; post-Mao era experimental and avant-garde movements; transnational careers and exhibition circuits.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 189C:
Global Currents: Early Modern Art Enterprises, Economies, and Imaginaries (ARTHIST 389C)
Episodes of global artistic exchange from the 16th to 19th centuries involving commodities (porcelains and textiles), technologies (printmaking, perspective, and cartography), and imaginaries (Chinoiserie, East Asian Occidenteries, Orientalism, Japonisme). The role of enterprises, institutions, and power relations in artistic economies, from the Portuguese Empire, Jesuit mission networks and East India Companies to imperialist systems.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 192B:
Art of the African Diaspora
This introduction to the art of the African Diaspora uses art and visual culture as means to explore the history and impact of the global spread of African peoples from slavery until the present day. Lectures and discussions will examine a range of artistic practices from street festivals and Afro-Caribbean religious traditions to the work of studio-trained artists of international repute.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 203:
Artists, Athletes, Courtesans and Crooks (CLASSICS 163)
The seminar covers a range of topics devoted to the makers of Greek art and artifacts, the ancient Greeks who used them in life and the afterlife, and the miscreants - from Lord Elgin to contemporary tomb-looters and dealers- whose deeds have damaged, deracinated and desecrated temples, sculptures and grave goods. Readings include ancient texts in translation, books and articles by eloquent experts, legal texts and lively page-turners. Classes meet in the seminar room and the Cantor Center.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 207C:
Phenomenology and Aesthetics in Medieval Art (ARTHIST 407C)
This course explores the phenomenal aspects of the medieval image and space such as glitter, shadow, smoke, reverberation and how these presence effects were conceptualized in medieval culture as animation. Focus is on a select group of monuments as well as engagement with medieval objects at the Cantor Art Museum and the facsimiles of medieval manuscripts kept at the Art Library and Special Collections. Among the monuments we will study are the Alhambra in Spain, the Apocalypse MSS, the Cantigas of Alfonso X, the Byzantine Joshua Roll, the Homiles of the Monk Kokkinobaphos, the Ashburnhamensis Pentateuch, and the Rossano Gospels.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 211:
The California Missions: Art History and Reconciliation (CSRE 111, NATIVEAM 211)
Sites of the spirit and devotion, sites of genocide, foreboding actors in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, the subject of fourth-grade school projects, the Spanish Missions of Alta California are complex sites of inquiry, their meanings and associations different for each visitor. This seminar examines the art and architecture of the California Missions built between 1769 and 1823. Constructed with local materials and decorated with reredos, paintings and sculptures from Mexico and Spain, the Missions are at once humble spaces and flagships of a belated global baroque. They were also the laboratories of indigenous artists and artisans. This course seeks to understand how Mission art was meant to function, how and why it was made, what its materials were, while asking what the larger role of art was in a global system of missions. Can the study of this art lead to the reconciliation of populations in North America and within the field of art history? The Missions require a specific reexamination of the relationship between European and colonial forms, not as objects of curiosity or diffusion but as viable and globally informed agents.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTHIST 213:
Renaissance Print Culture: Art in the Cantor Arts Center
The seminar takes place in the Cantor Arts Center and provides a unique opportunity to study original works of art from the museum's storage. Beginning in the fifteenth century new techniques of reproduction changed the pictorial culture of Europe. Some engravings called attention to the engraver's virtuosity, and the private nature of the medium was explored for erotic imagery. By the sixteenth century printed images were used for political and religious propaganda during the societal upheavals.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
ARTHIST 224N:
The Popular Culture of Abstract Art
Is abstract art inherently elitist? Or gendered? How does it differ from (mere) decoration? Is there a chasm that necessarily separates abstract and popular art? Can you think of examples in which those categories might overlap? This course is designed to deconstruct the boundaries that tend to make abstract art seem remote and difficult to understand, while pop(ular) art typically seems fun and accessible. How can we complicate these clichés to construct a more compelling narrative of modern art?n nSeminar participants will have many opportunities to see and study original works at Stanford's Cantor Arts Center and the Anderson Collection, as well as a trip to SFMOMA. Artists studied include Georges Braque, Constantin Brancusi, Marcel Duchamp, Piet Mondrian, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jackson Pollock.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 231:
Leonardo's World: Science, Technology, and Art (ARTHIST 431, HISTORY 231, HISTORY 331, ITALIAN 231, ITALIAN 331)
Leonardo da Vinci is emblematic of creativity and innovation. His art is iconic, his inventions legendary. His understanding of nature, the human body, and machines made him a scientist and engineer as well as an artist. This class explores the historical Leonardo, exploring his interests and accomplishments as a product of the society of Renaissance Italy. Why did this world produce a Leonardo? Students will contribute to a library exhibit for the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death in May 2019.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARTHIST 238C:
Art and the Market (FRENCH 238)
This course examines the relationship between art and the market, from the château-builders of the French Renaissance to avant-garde painters in the nineteenth-century Salon des Refusés. Using examples drawn from France, this course explores the relationship between artists and patrons, the changing status of artists in society, patterns of shifting taste, and the effects of museums on making and collecting art. Students will read a mixture of historical texts about art and artists, fictional works depicting the process of artistic creation, and theoretical analyses of the politics embedded in artworks. They will engage in sustained analysis of individual artworks, as well as the market structures in which such artworks were produced and bought. The course will be taught in English, with the option of readings in French for departmental majors.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARTHIST 245:
Art, Business & the Law (SIW 245)
This course examines the intersection of art, business, and the law from a number of different angles, focusing on issues that impact our understanding of works of art and their circulation in the modern and contemporary periods. Topics range from individual case studies (e.g., Leonardo da Vinci; Richard Serra) to the consolidation of the art market, and include cultural heritage issues, problems of censorship, and conceptions of authorship and intellectual property.nnIn Autumn 2017-18 this course will be offered at Stanford in Washington in Washington, D.C. and enrollment is limited to students who are enrolled in the SIW Program.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 252A:
Art and Power: From Royal Spectacle to Revolutionary Ritual (FRENCH 252)
From the Palace of Versailles to grand operas to Jacques-Louis David's portraits of revolutionary martyrs, rarely have the arts been so powerfully mobilized by the State as in early modern France. This course examines how the arts were used from Louis XIV to the Revolution in order to broadcast political authority across Europe. We will also consider the resistance to such attempts to elicit shock-and-awe through artistic patronage. By studying music, architecture, garden design, the visual arts, and theater together, students will gain a new perspective on works of art in their political contexts. But we will also examine the libelous pamphlets and satirical cartoons that turned the monarchy¿s grandeur against itself, ending the course with an examination of the new artistic regime of the French Revolution. The course will be taught in English with the option of French readings for departmental majors.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARTHIST 263B:
The View through the Windshield: Cars and the American Landscape
Both cars and the landscape are fundamental to American identity. This seminar will consider the relationship between them: how they have shaped each other, how one mediates the experience of the other, and how American artists such as Ansel Adams, Edward Hopper, and Ed Ruscha have represented both. We will discuss the relationship between nature and technology; the aesthetics of highways and parkways; the phenomenology of driving and road trips; maps and way finding; and the future of cars, mapping, and the landscape.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 264A:
Picturing the Cosmos
This seminar explores the place of images in how we understand and imagine the universe. The course draws on art, science, and popular culture, and pays particular attention to the ways they inform each other. Examples include: star maps, science fiction films, appropriated astronomical images, and telescopic views of stars, planets, and nebulae. Using these representations as well as accompanying readings we will discuss the importance of aesthetics for conceptions of the cosmos; the influence of technology on representations; strategies for representing concepts that exceed the limits of human vision; and the ways that views of the universe reflect and shape their cultural context. Open to undergraduates and graduates.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 264B:
Starstuff: Space and the American Imagination (AMSTUD 143X, FILMSTUD 264B)
Course on the history of twentieth and twenty-first century American images of space and how they shape conceptions of the universe. Covers representations made by scientists and artists, as well as scientific fiction films, TV, and other forms of popular visual culture. Topics will include the importance of aesthetics to understandings of the cosmos; the influence of media and technology on representations; the social, political, and historical context of the images; and the ways representations of space influence notions of American national identity and of cosmic citizenship.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTHIST 278:
Introduction to Curating
Gain hands-on curatorial experience at the Cantor Arts Center by developing an exhibition in the Oceanic gallery about the Global Southn(the Indian Ocean region). Explore and debate strategies for presenting diverse art forms, conduct research, prepare wall texts and labels, and participate in designing the exhibition space in collaboration with fellow students, faculty, and Cantor staff members.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTSINST 11Q:
Art in the Metropolis (ENGLISH 11Q, TAPS 11Q)
This seminar is offered in conjunction with the annual "Arts Immersion" trip to New York that takes place over the spring break and is organized by the Stanford Arts Institute (SAI). Participation in the trip is a requirement for taking part in the seminar (and vice versa). The trip is designed to provide a group of students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultural life of New York City guided by faculty and the SAI programming director. Students will experience a broad range and variety of art forms (visual arts, theater, opera, dance, etc.) and will meet with prominent arts administrators and practitioners, some of whom are Stanford alumni. For further details and updates about the trip, see http://arts.stanford.edu.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTSINST 171:
Art in the Age of Neuroscience (ARTSINST 271)
Technical advances in brain imaging offer new insights into the neurological underpinnings of consciousness. Yet the new science of mind leaves many unanswered questions regarding philosophical, cultural and spiritual aspects of subjectivity. Who is the 'I' that makes art and who is the 'I' that experiences it? Drawing from a broad range of disciplines, this hybrid seminar/production course examines questions of subjective experience while paying particular attention to media and linguistic theory, cognitive psychology and theories of consciousness. The material is topical and the readings are guided. Of paramount importance is your commitment. Active participation in discussions, activities, self-directed research and creative production is required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTSINST 180Q:
How to be Governed Otherwise: Art, Activism, and the City (CEE 131Q, URBANST 180Q)
This course will introduce you to contemporary art¿s engagement with political activism. This introduction will focus on the city as, at once, a field and target of activism¿a field of public appearance, artistic intervention, and political action, as well as a target of claims to residence, livelihood, recognition, justice, and collectivity. We will pose activist politics, artistic intervention, and urban space as mutually imbricated, each shaping the possibilities, programs, and histories of the other¿a perspective that offers insights into the spatiality, materiality, and visuality of political identity, agency, and action. Over the quarter, we will study some of the many artistic interventions that are encompassed by urban activism, from informal and everyday practices to protest, resistance, and occupation. Comparative case studies will be drawn from a global context. You will investigate these case studies through both research on urban activism and activist practice; the seminar will therefore invite you to explore the militant possibilities of research, the research possibilities of activism, and the implications of each for the production of art.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTSINST 181:
Art, Gentrification, & Intersectional Racial Politics (AFRICAAM 181, URBANST 181A)
This course addresses the role of artists and art bureaucracies in the gentrification of minority neighborhoods, examining contested sites in New York, Oakland, East LA, and New Orleans. Students consider histories of underdevelopment and displacement, asking what these processes may reveal about greater contests over space, aesthetics, power, and knowledge. The course serves as an opportunity to engage urban cultural politics from the perspectives of critical race theory, queer studies, and feminist critique as well as through encounters with works by William Pope.L, Laura Aguilar, Paul Chan, and others.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ARTSINST 182:
Activating Urban Spaces: Materializing Hidden Narratives in the Urban Environment (URBANST 182)
This course will investigate the organization and shaping of public space from the perspective of story and narrative. The course will consider how authorized narratives feature in the built environment and in the social spaces and usage of the city and how unauthorized, sometimes contentious narratives lurk beneath the surface and persist on the "skin" of the city. It will investigate the role of artists and the arts in "mapping" or surfacing alternative stories, concepts and imaginations of how the city is or can be. Inspired by the writings of Michel DeCerteau and Italo Calvino, this class explores the role of narrative in the city and the imagination from the perspective of cultural memory, lived experience, usage of space and organization of the built infrastructure. It offers an alternative approach to thinking about cities, how they are formed and how they function. This class will utilize and combine active field research methods with creative practice. Locations for our field research and excursions will include areas around Stanford and the Bay Area. The class will function as a hybrid seminar and collaborative studio workspace supporting students interested in applying creative practices to field research to develop methods for materializing narratives in various forms of public performance or place-specific art. Students will develop research for projects tailored to a particular location of their choosing and will explore the idea of the 'hidden city' its histories and its communities.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARTSINST 183:
Creative Climate Futures: Art, Climate Change & Urban Life (URBANST 183A)
Climate change is a defining factor of this generation, and yet while scientists unanimously warn of the inevitability of climate change, it remains a looming specter. This course builds an intersectional and structural understanding of climate change, and explores how art activates the intangibility of climate change, making it visible, visceral, and political. We will examine how the geographies of colonialism, racial capitalism, and migration produce climate change inequities, and how the climate justice movement addresses these through creative forms of resistance. We will undertake this exploration in three parts: first, by engaging with the cities of New Orleans and San Juan, to understand how climate catastrophe aggravates existing inequalities, and how residents creatively respond to disaster. From there we will consider how art serves as a form of politics, how it is taken up in social movements to provoke shifts in political consciousness. Lastly, we will engage directly with political art forms that address climate change, with a particular focus on those that centralize the experiences of populations most at risk of climate catastrophe. These art forms call attention to who bears the disproportionate burden of climatic shift, which geographies are most at risk, and how these creative interpretations envision climate futures. The course will culminate in a collective creative project in which students address climate change and climate futures from their own lived experiences.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARTSINST 184:
Creativity: Anatomy of a Buzzword (URBANST 186)
Creativity is one of the defining values of our time, embraced by corporate CEOs, kindergarten teachers, and starving artists alike. Yet it not always clear what creativity means. This course will explore how the capacious concept of creativity has shaped contemporary ideals of work, art, technology, human nature, and the good society. Using a mix of popular texts, contemporary scholarship, and classics of social thought, we will look at what kinds of products, places, and people count as 'creative' in public conversation, and why. Particular attention will be paid to how different overlapping notions of creativity have guided arts policy, business practices, and urban economic strategy over the last few decades of capitalist development. Using Stanford itself as a case study, students will conduct field work to discover how the concept of creativity operates across and between the various departments, disciplines, and centers on campus, from the fine arts to psychology to business. This research will culminate in the final group project: a multimedia archive and digital concept map of creativity discourse at Stanford. Students will come away from the class with concrete research skills and theoretical tools that will enable them to critically engage with any big ideas in the public sphere, as well as a better understanding of recent economic and cultural history underpinning our everyday assumptions and widely held values.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARTSTUDI 153N:
Ecology of Materials
This hands on studio based sculpture course takes a critical look at the materials used in sculpture and addresses the environmental concerns surrounding them. We will look at artists concerned with environmental impact and the interconnection of art to other fields. This class also addresses the impact of material and technique upon form and content; therefore understanding the physical and expressive possibilities of diverse materials. Conceptual and technical considerations will be addressed. Students will learn traditional building techniques as needed (wood shop, metal shop, mold making, found object) as well as anti-object techniques. Existing at the intersection of art, science, technology and ecology, environmental art often functions to inform and/or interpret natural conditions and the processes associated with both "non-human" and "human-made" constructions. It will also educate us about environmental issues and concerns. This course introduces and provides a context for this area of interdisciplinary exchange and artist production by examining areas commonly known as cradle to cradle design, land art, eco art, environmental art, and art and technology. What role does sculpture play in a fragile world with depleting natural resources, global economies and media dominance? What is the life cycle of object making and creating? What is our relationship to objects in a growing technological age? Students will make 3-4 projects based on these questions. Group discussions, critiques, readings, video presentations, a field trip to a local artist-in-residence program Recology at the San Francisco Dump, visiting artists and visiting faculty from Stanford doing environmental research will augment this class.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ARTSTUDI 162:
Embodied Interfaces
Our computers, phones and devices ¿see¿ us predominately as fingers and single eyes staring at screens. What would happen if our technology acknowledged more of our rich physical presence and capabilities in its design? How have artists and designers used different sensing technologies to account for more of our embodied selves in their works? In this studio course we will explore various sensing technologies and design pieces that engage our whole selves. Interfaces explored will range from the practical to the poetic. Sensors may involve flex sensors, heat sensors, microphones and simple camera tracking technology. We will analyze different tools for their appropriateness for different tasks and extend them through our designs.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ARTSTUDI 239:
Intermedia Workshop (MUSIC 155, MUSIC 255)
Students develop and produce intermedia works. Musical and visual approaches to the conceptualisation and shaping of time-based art. Exploration of sound and image relationship. Study of a wide spectrum of audiovisual practices including experimental animation, video art, dance, performance, non-narrative forms, interactive art and installation art. Focus on works that use music/sound and image as equal partners. Limited enrollment. Prerequisites: consent of instructors, and one of FILMPROD 114, ARTSTUDI 131, 138, 167, 177, 179, or MUSIC 123, or equivalent. May be repeated for credit
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
ARTSTUDI 271:
The View Camera
Students will learn how to use large-format 4x5 view cameras, and explore the ways in which large-format photography enables the creation of exceptionally clear images on a par with digital imaging. They will develop sheet film and print black-and-white images in analog format. To connect the camera to contemporary digital practices students will learn to scan and digitally print from their negatives. Specific attention will be given to mastering perspective control and in-camera manipulation of the image. From a historical point of view, the course will analyze and discuss images created with view cameras by a wide range of artists from the early days of photography to the present. Students will put their skills into practice and pursue their own aesthetic by producing a portfolio of images. Prerequisite: ARTSTUDI 170, ARTSTUDI 171, or equivalent.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ASNAMST 31N:
Behind the Big Drums: Exploring Taiko (MUSIC 31N)
Preference to Freshman. Since 1992 generations of Stanford students have heard, seen, and felt the power of taiko, big Japanese drums, at Admit Weekend, NSO, or at Baccalaureate. This seminar provides students with the opportunity to get behind the big drums, literally and academically. In fact, taiko is a relative newcomer to the American music scene. The contemporary ensemble drumming form, or kumidaiko, developed in Japan in the 1950s. The first North American taiko groups emerged from the Japanese American community shortly after and coincided with increased Asian American activism. In the intervening years, taiko has spread rapidly into other communities, most surprisingly to the UK, Europe, Australia, and South America. What drives the power of these drums? In this course, we explore the musical, cultural, historical, and political perspectives of taiko through readings and discussion, by playing the drums, workshopping with taiko masters, and meeting members of the taiko community. With North American taiko as the focal point, we learn about Japanese music and Japanese American history, and explore relations between performance, cultural expression, community, and identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ASNAMST 117D:
Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film (AFRICAAM 117J, AMSTUD 117, CSRE 117D, FEMGEN 117F)
This course introduces students to the theoretical and analytical frameworks necessary to critically understand constructions of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary American film. Through a sustained engagement with a range of independent and Hollywood films produced since the 1990s, students analyze the ways that cinematic representations have both reflected and constructed dominant notions of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States. Utilizing an intersectional framework that sees race, gender, and sexuality as always defined by one another, the course examines the ways that dominant notions of difference have been maintained and contested through film in the United States. Films to be discussed include Better Luck Tomorrow, La La Land, Mosquita y Mari, Get Out, and Moonlight.nTO BE ADDED TO THE WAITLIST: Please email williamgow@stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ASNAMST 151D:
Migration and Diaspora in American Art, 1800-Present (AMSTUD 151, ARTHIST 151, ARTHIST 351, CSRE 151D)
This lecture course explores American art through the lens of immigration, exile, and diaspora. We will examine a wide range of work by immigrant artists and craftsmen, paying special attention to issues of race and ethnicity, assimilation, displacement, and political turmoil. Artists considered include Emmanuel Leutze, Thomas Cole, Joseph Stella, Chiura Obata, Willem de Kooning, Mona Hatoum, and Julie Mehretu, among many others. How do works of art reflect and help shape cultural and individual imaginaries of home and belonging?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ASNAMST 157:
An Introduction to Asian American Literature: The Short Story
This course introduces students to Asian American literature and its sociohistorical contexts through close-reading a selection of short stories by writers from various ethnic groups.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ASNAMST 186B:
Asian American Art: 1850-Present (AMSTUD 186D, ARTHIST 186B)
In 1968, the Asian American Political Alliance began a successful campaign to jettison the designation "oriental" in favor of "Asian American." Given the term's recent genesis, what do we refer to when we discuss "Asian American art," and how can we speak of its history? This lecture class will explore these questions by considering artists, craftsmen, and laborers of Asian descent in the United States, beginning with Chinese immigration to California in the mid-nineteenth century, and extending through our current moment of globalization. We will consider their work alongside art and visual culture of the United States that engages "Asia" as a place, idea, or fantasy. Special attention will be paid to the crucial role Asia and Asian Americans played in movements including photography in San Francisco, Abstract Expressionism, Beat Culture, performance art, and New Queer Cinema. Artists include Chiura Obata, Isamu Noguchi, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Manuel Ocampo, Zarina, and Wu Tsang, among many others.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
BIOHOPK 157H:
Creative Writing & Science: The Artful Interpreter (BIOHOPK 257H, ENGLISH 157H)
What role does creativity play in the life of a scientist? How has science inspired great literature? How do you write accessibly and expressively about things like whales, DNA or cancer? This course begins with a field trip to Hopkins Marine Station, perched at the edge of the Pacific, where Stanford labs buzz with activity alongside barking seals and crashing waves. Here, in this spectacular setting, we learn to pay attention to our encounters with the natural world and translate sensory experience to the page. Students keep field journals to collect observations and cultivate a reflective practice. In-class writing experiments lead to original nonfiction combining personal narrative and scientific curiosity. Students workshop their projects, receiving supportive feedback from the group. You will develop a more patient and observant eye, improve your ability to articulate scientific concepts, and, hopefully, have a bit of fun along the way.nNOTE: First priority to undergrads. Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
BIOHOPK 158H:
Science Meets Literature on the Monterey Peninsula (BIOHOPK 258H, ENGLISH 158H)
(Graduate students register for 258H.) This course will consider the remarkable nexus of scientific research and literature that developed on the Monterey Peninsula in the first half of the 20th century and how the two areas of creativity influenced each other. The period of focus begins with the 1932 association of John and Carol Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts, and Joseph Campbell, all of whom were highly influenced by the Carmel poet, Robinson Jeffers ¿ and ends with the novels Cannery Row (1945) and Sweet Thursday (1954). An indisputable high-tide mark, Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely of Travel and Research (1941) will be considered in detail. Weekend field trips will include intertidal exploration, a tour of the Jeffers Tor House in Carmel, and whale watching on Monterey Bay.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
CEE 32A:
Psychology of Architecture
This course argues that architecture often neglects the interdisciplinary investigation of our internal psychological experience and the way it impacts our creation of space. How does our inner life influence external design? How are we impacted emotionally, physically, psychologically by the spaces we inhabit day to day? How might we intentionally imbue personal and public spaces with specific emotions? This seminar serves as a call to action for students interested in approaching architecture with a holistic understanding of the emotional impact of space. Sample topics addressed will include: conscious vs. unconscious design; the ego of architecture; psycho-spatial perspectives; ideas of home; integral/holistic architecture; phenomenology of inner and outer spaces; exploring archetypal architecture; and translating emotion through environment.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
CEE 32B:
Design Theory
This seminar focuses on the key themes, histories, and methods of architectural theory -- a form of architectural practice that establishes the aims and philosophies of architecture. Architectural theory is primarily written, but it also incorporates drawing, photography, film, and other media. nnOne of the distinctive features of modern and contemporary architecture is its pronounced use of theory to articulate its aims. One might argue that modern architecture is modern because of its incorporation of theory. This course focuses on those early-modern, modern, and late-modern writings that have been and remain entangled with contemporary architectural thought and design practice. nnRather than examine the development of modern architectural theory chronologically, it is explored architectural through thematic topics. These themes enable the student to understand how certain architectural theoretical concepts endure, are transformed, and can be furthered through his/her own explorations.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CEE 32D:
Construction: The Writing of Architecture
This seminar focuses on the construction of architectural writing. The class will analyze this idea through four topics: formal analysis, manifesto, translation, and preservation. The seminar is divided into two-week modules with each of these four concepts functioning as organizing principles. nnThe first week of each module will involve familiarizing the seminar with both the terms and rhetorical tactics of the given theme by reading and analyzing specific texts and completing a short written analysis (1-2 pages). The second week will expand upon this foundation and involve further analysis in addition to each student writing a short paper (3-4 pages) drawing on the examples discussed and their own experiences in the discipline. The goal of the seminar is for each student to be able to analyze how an architectural writing is constructed and to develop his/her skills in the construction of his/her own writing.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CEE 32G:
Architecture Since 1900 (ARTHIST 142)
Art 142 is an introduction to the history of architecture since 1900 and how it has shaped and been shaped by its cultural contexts. The class also investigates the essential relationship between built form and theory during this period.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CEE 32R:
American Architecture (AMSTUD 143A, ARTHIST 143A, ARTHIST 343A)
A historically based understanding of what defines American architecture. What makes American architecture American, beginning with indigenous structures of pre-Columbian America. Materials, structure, and form in the changing American context. How these ideas are being transformed in today's globalized world.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CEE 131Q:
How to be Governed Otherwise: Art, Activism, and the City (ARTSINST 180Q, URBANST 180Q)
This course will introduce you to contemporary art¿s engagement with political activism. This introduction will focus on the city as, at once, a field and target of activism¿a field of public appearance, artistic intervention, and political action, as well as a target of claims to residence, livelihood, recognition, justice, and collectivity. We will pose activist politics, artistic intervention, and urban space as mutually imbricated, each shaping the possibilities, programs, and histories of the other¿a perspective that offers insights into the spatiality, materiality, and visuality of political identity, agency, and action. Over the quarter, we will study some of the many artistic interventions that are encompassed by urban activism, from informal and everyday practices to protest, resistance, and occupation. Comparative case studies will be drawn from a global context. You will investigate these case studies through both research on urban activism and activist practice; the seminar will therefore invite you to explore the militant possibilities of research, the research possibilities of activism, and the implications of each for the production of art.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CEE 132Q:
Place: Making Space Now
This seminar argues that architeccts are ultimately "placemakers," and questions what that means in the contemporary world. Part I investigates the meaning of the word "place." Additional background for understanding contemporary place making will include a critique of the history of modern place-making through an examination of modern form. Part II examines two traditional notions of place by scale: from "home" to "the city." What elements give these conceptions of space a sense of place? To answer this question, themes such as memory, mapping, and boundary, among others, will be investigated. part III presents challenges to the traditional notions of place discussed in Part II. Topics addressed include: What does it mean to be "out of place"? What sense of place does a nomad have, and how is this represented? What are the "non-places" and how can architects design for these spaces? Part IV addresses the need to re-conceptualize contemporary space. The role of digital and cyber technologies, the construction of locality in a global world, and the in-between places that result from a world in flux are topics discussed in this section of the seminar. nLearning goals: Specific goals include clsoe reading of texts, understanding of philosophical thinking and writing, argument under uncertainty, and developed concepts of place, space and architecture.
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CHILATST 140:
Migration in 21st Century Latin American Film (ILAC 140)
Focus on how images and narratives of migration are depicted in recent Latin American film. It compares migration as it takes place within Latin America to migration from Latin America to Europe and to the U.S. We will analyze these films, and their making, in the global context of an ever-growing tension between "inside" and "outside"; we consider how these films represent or explore precariousness and exclusion; visibility and invisibility; racial and gender dynamics; national and social boundaries; new subjectivities and cultural practices. Films include: Bolivia, Copacabana, La teta asustada, Norteado, Sin nombre, Migración, Ulises, among others. Films in Spanish, with English subtitles. Discussions and assignments in Spanish.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CHILATST 162:
Latin/x America in Motion: An Introduction to Dance Studies (CSRE 162D, DANCE 162L, TAPS 162L, TAPS 262L)
This course introduces students to the field of Dance Studies by examining the histories of Latin American and Caribbean dances and their relationship to developing notions of race and nation in the Americas. We will study the historical emergence and transformation of ¿indigeneity,¿ ¿blackness,¿ ¿whiteness,¿ and ¿Latin/@/x¿ and consider how dance practices interacted with these identifications. No prior experience with Dance or Latin America and the Caribbean necessary.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CHINA 21Q:
Humanities Core: Love and Betrayal in Asia (HUMCORE 21Q, JAPAN 21Q, KOREA 21Q)
Why are lovers in storybooks East and West always star-crossed? Why do love and death seem to go together? For every Romeo and Juliet, there are dozens of doomed lovers in the Asian literary repertoires, from Genji's string of embittered mistresses, to the Butterfly lovers in early modern China, to the voices of desire in Koryo love songs, to the devoted adolescent cousins in Dream of the Red Chamber, to the media stars of Korean romantic drama, now wildly popular throughout Asia. In this course, we explore how the love story has evolved over centuries of East Asian history, asking along the way what we can learn about Chinese, Japanese, and Korean views of family and community, gender and sexuality, truth and deception, trust and betrayal, ritual and emotion, and freedom and solidarity from canonical and non-canonical works in East Asian literatures. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CHINA 22Q:
Humanities Core: How to be Modern in East Asia (COMPLIT 22Q, HUMCORE 22Q, JAPAN 22Q)
Modern East Asia was almost continuously convulsed by war and revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. But the everyday experience of modernity was structured more profoundly by the widening gulf between the country and the city, economically, politically, and culturally. This course examines literary and cinematic works from China and Japan that respond to and reflect on the city/country divide, framing it against issues of class, gender, national identity, and ethnicity. It also explores changing ideas about home/hometown, native soil, the folk, roots, migration, enlightenment, civilization, progress, modernization, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and sustainability. All materials are in English. N.B. This is the third of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
CHINA 70N:
Animal Planet and the Romance of the Species (COMPLIT 70N)
Preference to freshmen.This course considers a variety of animal characters in Chinese and Western literatures as potent symbols of cultural values and dynamic sites of ethical reasoning. What does pervasive animal imagery tell us about how we relate to the world and our neighbors? How do animals define the frontiers of humanity and mediate notions of civilization and culture? How do culture, institutions, and political economy shape concepts of human rights and animal welfare? And, above all, what does it mean to be human in the pluralistic and planetary 21st century? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
CHINA 111:
Literature in 20th-Century China (CHINA 211)
(Graduate students register for 211.) How modern Chinese culture evolved from tradition to modernity; the century-long drive to build a modern nation state and to carry out social movements and political reforms. How the individual developed modern notions of love, affection, beauty, and moral relations with community and family. Sources include fiction and film clips. WIM course.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
CHINA 112:
Tiananmen Square: History, Literature, Iconography (CHINA 212)
Multidisciplinary. Literary and artistic representations of this site of political and ideological struggles throughout the 20th century. Tiananmen-themed creative, documentary, and scholarly works that shed light on the dynamics and processes of modern Chinese culture and politics. No knowledge of Chinese required. Repeat for credit.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
CHINA 115:
Sex, Gender, and Power in Modern China (CHINA 215, FEMGEN 150, FEMGEN 250)
Investigates how sex, gender, and power are entwined in the Chinese experience of modernity. Topics include anti-footbinding campaigns, free love/free sex, women's mobilization in revolution and war, the new Marriage Law of 1950, Mao's iron girls, postsocialist celebrations of sensuality, and emergent queer politics. Readings range from feminist theory to China-focused historiography, ethnography, memoir, biography, fiction, essay, and film. All course materials are in English.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CHINA 151B:
The Nature of Knowledge: Science and Literature in East Asia (CHINA 251B, JAPAN 151B, JAPAN 251B, KOREA 151, KOREA 251)
"The Nature of Knowledge" explores the intersections of science and humanities East Asia. It covers a broad geographic area (China, Japan, and Korea) along a long temporal space (14th century - present) to investigate how historical notions about the natural world, the human body, and social order defied, informed, and constructed our current categories of science and humanities. The course will make use of medical, geographic, and cosmological treatises from premodern East Asia, portrayals and uses of science in modern literature, film, and media, as well as theoretical and historical essays on the relationships between literature, science, and society.nnAs part of its exploration of science and the humanities in conjunction, the course addresses how understandings of nature are mediated through techniques of narrative, rhetoric, visualization, and demonstration. In the meantime, it also examines how the emergence of modern disciplinary "science" influenced the development of literary language, tropes, and techniques of subject development. This class will expose the ways that science has been mobilized for various ideological projects and to serve different interests, and will produce insights into contemporary debates about the sciences and humanities.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
CHINA 154Q:
Utopia/Dystopia in Chinese Literature and Culture
What has China been dreaming of? Since 2013, Chinese president Xi Jinping has been trying to popularize the idea of Chinese Dream as an expression of national and individual vision. But dreams of places better or worse have been abound in the land we know as China since at least Tao Yuanming described the mysterious Peach Blossom Spring in the 5th century. How many dreams have been dreamt since then? How have the visions and ideals expressed in these dreams changed in relation to the succession of imperial dynasties, the trauma of Western imperialism, the modernizing experiments, and today¿s rise of China as a major world power?nnThe science fiction writer and translator Ken Liu writes that ¿texts concerning dreams always say something about the dreamer, the dream interpreter, and the audience.¿ In this course, we will understand China and Chinese culture by investigating Chinese texts that dream, particularly those that dream about utopias and dystopias.We will consider indigenous utopian traditions, early modern speculative fiction written under the influence of modern ideologies ranging from nationalism, Social Darwinism to Marxism, as well as contemporary science fiction by writers such as the Hugo Award-winning Liu Cixin and Hao Jingfang. As we analyze the desires, hopes, and fears that manifest themselves in these Chinese alternative realities, we will also think about questions that concern all of us as human beings: who are we and how do we want to live with one another?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CHINA 163:
Chinese Biographies of Women (CHINA 263)
Generic and historical analysis of the two-millennia long biographical tradition inaugurated by Liu Xiang, ca. 79-8 B.C.E. Chinese women's history, intellectual history, historiography, and literary studies.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 9N:
What Didn't Make it into the Bible (JEWISHST 9N, RELIGST 9N)
Over two billion people alive today consider the Bible to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How would history look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Jewish and Christian texts are not included in the Bible. ¿What Didn't Make It in the Bible¿ focuses on these excluded writings. We will explore the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient romance novels, explore the adventures of fallen angels who sired giants (and taught humans about cosmetics), tour heaven and hell, encounter the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. The only prerequisite is an interest in exploring books, groups, and ideas that eventually lost the battles of history and to keep asking the question "why." In critically examining these ancient narratives and the communities that wrote them, you will learn about the content and history of the Bible, better appreciate the diversity of early Judaism and Christianity, understand the historical context of these religions, and explore the politics behind what did and did not make it into the bible.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 14N:
Ecology in Philosophy and Literature
What can we do to help the environment? How do our conceptions of the environment affect our actions? In this class, we examine the basic principles of ecological thinking in Western culture. We explore the ways that different writers represent and conceive of the natural world. We also analyze different environmental philosophies. We will address the following questions: What is nature? Who decides what is "natural"? How do humans differ from other animals? Do these differences make us superior beings? How do our eating habits affect the earth? What are the philosophical arguments for vegetarianism and veganism? How have the technologies of television, cell phones, and computers affected our relationship to the natural world? To what extent do we dwell in cyberspace? How does this affect our habitation on earth? How does modern technology inform the way that we think and act in the world? To help us answer these questions, we read nature writers (Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard), philosophers (Descartes, Heidegger), short stories (Kafka, Ursula le Guin), novelists (Conrad, Tournier) and contemporary writers (Peter Singer, Michael Pollan, Elizabeth Kolbert).
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
CLASSICS 18N:
The Artist in Ancient Greek Society (ARTHIST 100N)
Given the importance of art to all aspects of their lives, the Greeks had reason to respect their artists. Yet potters, painters and even sculptors possessed little social standing. n nWhy did the Greeks value the work of craftsmen but not the men themselves? Why did Herodotus dismiss those who worked with their hands as "mechanics?" What prompted Homer to claim that "there is no greater glory for a man¿ than what he achieves with his own hands," provided that he was throwing a discus and not a vase on a wheel?n nPainted pottery was essential to the religious and secular lives of the Greeks. Libations to the gods and to the dead required vases from which to pour them. Economic prosperity depended on the export of wine and oil in durable clay containers. At home, depictions of gods and heroes on vases reinforced Greek values and helped parents to educate their children. Ceramic sets with scenes of Dionysian excess were reserved for elite symposia from which those who potted and painted them were excluded.n nSculptors were less lowly but even those who carved the Parthenon were still regarded as "mechanics," with soft bodies and soft minds (Xenophon) "indifferent to higher things" (Plutarch).n nThe seminar addresses these issues. Students will read and discuss texts, write response papers and present slide lectures and gallery talks on aspects of the artist's profession.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 19N:
Eloquence Personified: How To Speak Like Cicero
This course is an introduction to Roman rhetoric, Cicero's Rome, and the active practice of speaking well. Participants read a short rhetorical treatise by Cicero, analyze one of his speeches as well as more recent ones by, e.g., Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Obama, and watch their oratorical performances. During the remainder of the term they practice rhetoric, prepare and deliver in class two (short) speeches, and write an essay.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
CLASSICS 21Q:
Eight Great Archaeological Sites in Europe (ARCHLGY 21Q)
Preference to sophomores. Focus is on excavation, features and finds, arguments over interpretation, and the place of each site in understanding the archaeological history of Europe. Goal is to introduce the latest archaeological and anthropological thought, and raise key questions about ancient society. The archaeological perspective foregrounds interdisciplinary study: geophysics articulated with art history, source criticism with analytic modeling, statistics interpretation. A web site with resources about each site, including plans, photographs, video, and publications, is the basis for exploring.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, Writing 2
CLASSICS 31:
Greek Mythology
(Formerly CLASSGEN 18.) The heroic and divine in the literature, mythology, and culture of archaic Greece. Interdisciplinary approach to the study of individuals and society. Illustrated lectures. Readings in translation of Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, and the poets of lyric and tragedy. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required during regular academic quarters (Aut, Win, Spr)
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 34:
Ancient Athletics
How the Olympic Games developed and how they were organized. Many other Greek festivals featured sport and dance competitions, including some for women, and showcased the citizen athlete as a civic ideal. Roman athletics in contrast saw the growth of large-scale spectator sports and professional athletes. Some toured like media stars; others regularly risked death in gladiatorial contests and chariot-racing. We will also explore how large-scale games were funded and how they fostered the development of sports medicine. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required; enroll in sections on coursework.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 37:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, The Ancient World (DLCL 11, HUMCORE 11)
This course will journey through ancient literature from Homer to St. Augustine; it will introduce participants to some of its fascinating features and big ideas; and it will reflect on questions such as: What is a good life, a good society? Who is in and who is out and why? What is the meaning of honor, and should it be embraced or feared? Where does human subjectivity fit into a world of matter, cause and effect? When is rebellion justified? What happens when a way of life or thought is upended? Do we have any duties to the past? N.B. This is the first of three courses in the European track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study European history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future. Students who take HUMCORE 11 and HUMCORE 12Q will have preferential admission to HUMCORE 13Q (a WR2 seminar).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 40:
Greek Philosophy (PHIL 100)
We shall cover the major developments in Greek philosophical thought, focusing on Plato, Aristotle, and the Hellenistic schools (the Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Skeptics). Topics include epistemology, metaphysics, psychology, ethics and political theory. No prereqs, not repeatable.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 42:
Philosophy and Literature (COMPLIT 181, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181)
What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 43:
Exploring the New Testament (JEWISHST 86, RELIGST 86)
To explore the historical context of the earliest Christians, students will read most of the New Testament as well as many documents that didn't make the final cut. Non-Christian texts, Roman art, and surviving archeological remains will better situate Christianity within the ancient world. Students will read from the Dead Sea Scrolls, explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing divine temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse an ancient marriage guide, and engage with recent scholarship in archeology, literary criticism, and history.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 44:
Epic! Life, death, and glory in the Iliad and Odyssey
The two epics attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer enshrine a vivid world of experience centered on the deeds and misdeeds of warriors and divinities, kings and queens, in the last days and aftermath of the Trojan War. The course examines these remarkable poems in detail, with attention to their political, social, historical and artistic contexts, as well as to their reception in art, literature, film and music over the last two millennia. No prior knowledge of Homer or Greek literature necessary.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 54:
Introduction to World Architecture (ARTHIST 3)
This course offers an expansive introduction to architecture and urban design from the earliest human constructions to the mid-20th century. The examples range from the Americas to Europe and the Middle East and Asia. The business of architecture, its structure and materials, are addressed in each case, because designs have to leave the paper to achieve a presence in the world, and an overriding concern is to understand architecture as a sensible manifestation of particular cultures, whether societies or individuals. To the same ends, student writing assignments will involve the analysis of local space, whether a room or a building, and then the built environment at large.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 56:
Introduction to the Visual Arts: Prehistoric through Medieval (ARTHIST 1A)
A survey of the art and architecture from the cave paintings of Lascaux to the Gothic Cathedrals of France; the material is organized both chronologically and thematically and covers a multiplicity of religions: pagan, Christian, and Islamic.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CLASSICS 58:
Egypt in the Age of Heresy (AFRICAAM 58A, AFRICAST 58, ARCHLGY 58)
Perhaps the most controversial era in ancient Egyptian history, the Amarna period (c.1350-1334 BCE) was marked by great sociocultural transformation, notably the introduction of a new 'religion' (often considered the world's first form of monotheism), the construction of a new royal city, and radical departures in artistic and architectural styles. This course will introduce archaeological and textual sources of ancient Egypt, investigating topics such as theological promotion, projections of power, social structure, urban design, interregional diplomacy, and historical legacy during the inception, height, and aftermath of this highly enigmatic period. Students with or without prior background are equally encouraged.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 82:
The Egyptians (AFRICAAM 30, HISTORY 48, HISTORY 148)
Overview of ancient Egyptian pasts, from predynastic times to Greco-Roman rule, roughly 3000 BCE to 30 BCE. Attention to archaeological sites and artifacts; workings of society; and cultural productions, both artistic and literary. Participation in class is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 88:
Origins of History in Greece and Rome (HISTORY 114)
What's the history of `History'? The first ancient historians wrote about commoners and kings, conquest and power - those who had it, those who wanted it, those without it. Their powerful ways of recounting the past still resonate today and can be harnessed to tell new stories. We will look at how ancients like Herodotus, Thucydides, Tacitus, and Livy turned stories about the past into compelling narratives of loss, growth and decline - inventing 'History' as we know it. All readings in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 102L:
Advanced Latin: Elegy (CLASSICS 209L)
As needed, we will review questions of grammar and syntax, rhetorical terms, and historical context. Classics majors and minors must take course for letter grade. May be repeated for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: Language, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 103L:
Advanced Latin: Livy
Livy's Book VI tells the history of Republican Rome from 390 to 367 BCE, years of profound change in Roman society, while the city is reconstructed after being sacked by the Gauls. How does Livy make his story lifelike and convincing? What is the role of individuals in this narrative? How do moral readings of past events balance political ones? How does Livy involve his readers in reconstructing Rome and its past? Close attention to language, style and narrative techniques. Classics majors and minors must take course for a letter grade and may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: Language, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 112:
Introduction to Greek Tragedy: Gods, Heroes, Fate, and Justice (TAPS 167)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 110.) Gods and heroes, fate and free choice, gender conflict, the justice or injustice of the universe: these are just some of the fundamental human issues that we will explore in about ten of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 115:
Mapping the Grand Tour: Digital Methods for Historical Data (ENGLISH 115, HISTORY 238C, ITALIAN 115)
Classical Italy attracted thousands of travelers throughout the 1700s. Referring to their journey as the "Grand Tour," travelers pursued intellectual passions, promoted careers, and satisfied wanderlust, all while collecting antiquities to fill museums and estates back home. What can digital approaches tell us about who traveled, where and why? We will read travel accounts; experiment with parsing; and visualize historical data. Final projects to form credited contributions to the Grand Tour Project, a cutting-edge digital platform. No prior experience necessary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 125:
The Hindu Epics and the Ethics of Dharma (COMPLIT 193, RELIGST 123)
The two great Hindu Epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, offer a sustained reflection on the nature of virtuous living in the face of insoluble ethical dilemmas. Their treatment of the concept of dharma, understood simultaneously as ethical action and the universal order that upholds the cosmos, lies at the heart of both Gandhian non-violent resistance and communalist interreligious conflict. This course will focus on a reading of selections from the Epics in English translation, supplemented with a consideration of how the texts have been interpreted in South Asian literary history and contemporary politics and public life in India.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
CLASSICS 130:
The Grandeur of Epic: Poetry, Narrative, and World from Homer to Evolutionary Biology (COMPLIT 132)
Explores the mystery and power of epic. This ancient word, which at its root means "what is spoken," first classified certain traditions of archaic Greek poetry, especially Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. It now appears everywhere from slang to contemporary scientific discourse. Though some might dismiss its proliferation as an accident of everyday speech, the course will take the phenomenon of "epic" seriously, asking what it is about this oldest of genres that continues to inspire our collective imagination. Readings will include works of epic as well as theoretical and philosophical works on narrative, religion, and science. We will read substantial selections from the Iliad, Hesiod's poems, the Hebrew Bible, the Gospels, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion, and Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 136:
The Greek Invention of Mathematics
How was mathematics invented? A survey of the main creative ideas of ancient Greek mathematics. Among the issues explored are the axiomatic system of Euclid's Elements, the origins of the calculus in Greek measurements of solids and surfaces, and Archimedes' creation of mathematical physics. We will provide proofs of ancient theorems, and also learn how such theorems are even known today thanks to the recovery of ancient manuscripts.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 161:
Introduction to Greek Art I: The Archaic Period (ARTHIST 101)
This lecture course explores Greek art and culture from 1000-480. In the beginning archaic art forms are more abstract than life-like, closer to Calder than Michelangelo. While Homer describes the rippling muscles (and egos) of his heroes, vase-painters and sculptors prefer abstraction. This changes in the 7th C. as a result of commerce with the Near East and Egypt. Imported Near Eastern bronzes and ivories awaken the Greeks to a wider range of subjects, techniques and ambitions. Later in the century, Greeks in Egypt learn to carve hard stone from Egyptian masters. Throughout the 6th C. Greek artists assimilate what they had borrowed, compete with one another, defy their teachers, test the tolerance of the gods and eventually produce works of art that speak with a Greek accent. When the Persians invade the Acropolis in 480, they find artifacts with little trace of alien influence or imprint - omens of the defiant Greek military that would prevail at Salamis and Plataea.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 162:
Introduction to Greek Art II: The Classical Period (ARTHIST 102)
The class begins with the art, architecture and political ideals of Periclean Athens, from the emergence of the city as the political and cultural center of Greece in 450 to its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404. It then considers how Athens and the rest of Greece proceed in the fourth century to rebuild their lives and the monuments that define them. Earlier artistic traditions endure, with subtle changes, in the work of sculptors such as Kephisodotos. Less subtle are the outlook and output of his son Praxiteles. In collaboration with Phryne, his muse and mistress, Praxiteles challenged the canons and constraints of the past with the first female nude in the history of Greek sculpture. His gender-bending depictions of gods and men were equally audacious, their shiny surfaces reflecting Plato¿s discussion of Eros and androgyny. Scopas was also a man of his time but pursued different interests. Drawn to the inner lives of men and woman, his tormented Trojan War heroes and victims are still scarred by memories of the Peloponnesian War, and a world away from the serene faces of the Parthenon. His famous Maenad, a devotee of Dionysos who has left this world for another, belongs to the same years as Euripides' Bacchae and, at the same time, anticipates the torsion and turbulence of Bernini and the Italian Baroque. In the work of these and other fourth century personalities, the stage is set for Alexander the Great and his conquest of a kingdom extending from Greece to the Indus River. (Formerly CLASSART 102)
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 163:
Artists, Athletes, Courtesans and Crooks (ARTHIST 203)
The seminar covers a range of topics devoted to the makers of Greek art and artifacts, the ancient Greeks who used them in life and the afterlife, and the miscreants - from Lord Elgin to contemporary tomb-looters and dealers- whose deeds have damaged, deracinated and desecrated temples, sculptures and grave goods. Readings include ancient texts in translation, books and articles by eloquent experts, legal texts and lively page-turners. Classes meet in the seminar room and the Cantor Center.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 165:
Religions of Ancient Eurasia (ARCHLGY 109)
This course will explore archaeological evidence for the ritual and religions of Ancient Eurasia, including Greco-Roman polytheism, early Christianity, and early Buddhism. Each week, we will discuss the most significant themes, methods, and approaches that archaeologists are now using to study religious beliefs and rituals. Examples will focus on the everyday social, material, and symbolic aspects of religion. The course will also consider the role of archaeological heritage in religious conflicts today and the ethical dilemmas of archaeology in the 21st century.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 166:
The Body in Roman Art (ARCHLGY 166)
(Formerly CLASSART 105.) Ancient and modern ideas about the body as ideal and site of lived experience. Themes include representation, portrayal, power, metamorphosis, and replication. Works that exemplify Roman ideas of heroism and power versus works portraying nude women, erotic youth, preserved corpses, and suffering enemies. Recommended: background in ancient Mediterranean art, archaeology, history, or literature. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 168:
Engineering the Roman Empire (ARCHLGY 118)
(Formerly CLASSART 117.) Enter the mind, the drafting room, and the building site of the Roman architects and engineers whose monumental projects impressed ancient and modern spectators alike. This class explores the interrelated aesthetics and mechanics of construction that led to one of the most extensive building programs undertaken by a pre-modern state. Through case studies ranging from columns, domes and obelisks to road networks, machines and landscape modification, we investigate the materials, methods, and knowledge behind Roman innovation, and the role of designed space in communicating imperial identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 171:
Byzantine Art and Architecture, 300-1453 C.E. (ARTHIST 106, ARTHIST 306)
(Formerly CLASSART 106/206.) This course explores the art and architecture of the Eastern Mediterranean: Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Damascus, Thessaloniki, and Palermo, 4th-15th centuries. Applying an innovative approach, we will probe questions of phenomenology and aesthetics, focusing our discussion on the performance and appearance of spaces and objects in the changing diurnal light, in the glitter of mosaics and in the mirror reflection and translucency of marble.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 181:
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 381, ETHICSOC 130A, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 133/333.) Political philosophy in classical antiquity, focusing on canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Historical background. Topics include: political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; and law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
CLASSICS 262:
Sex and the Early Church (FEMGEN 262, RELIGST 262, RELIGST 362)
Sex and the Early Church examines the ways first- through sixth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. We will read a Roman gynecological manual, an ancient dating guide, the world's first harlequin romance novels, ancient pornography, early Christian martyrdom accounts, stories of female and male saints, instructions for how to best battle demons, visionary accounts, and monastic rules. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality. The purpose of our exploration is not simply to better understand ancient views of gender and sexuality. Rather, this investigation of a society whose sexual system often seems so surprising aims to denaturalize many of our own assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. In the process, we will also examine the ways these first centuries of what eventually became the world's largest religious tradition has profoundly affected the sexual norms of our own time. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMM 1B:
Media, Culture, and Society (AMSTUD 1B)
The institutions and practices of mass media, including television, film, radio, and digital media, and their role in shaping culture and social life. The media's shifting relationships to politics, commerce, and identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
COMPLIT 11Q:
Shakespeare, Playing, Gender
Preference to sophomores. Focus is on several of the best and lesser known plays of Shakespeare, on theatrical and other kinds of playing, and on ambiguities of both gender and playing gender. Note: This course must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 22Q:
Humanities Core: How to be Modern in East Asia (CHINA 22Q, HUMCORE 22Q, JAPAN 22Q)
Modern East Asia was almost continuously convulsed by war and revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. But the everyday experience of modernity was structured more profoundly by the widening gulf between the country and the city, economically, politically, and culturally. This course examines literary and cinematic works from China and Japan that respond to and reflect on the city/country divide, framing it against issues of class, gender, national identity, and ethnicity. It also explores changing ideas about home/hometown, native soil, the folk, roots, migration, enlightenment, civilization, progress, modernization, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and sustainability. All materials are in English. N.B. This is the third of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
COMPLIT 31Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East I -- Ancient (DLCL 31Q, HUMCORE 31Q)
This course tells the story of the cradle of civilization. We will start from the earliest human stories, and follow the path from Gligamesh to the Quran via Babylon, the Hebrew Bible, and ancient philosophy. We will read letters, myths, and religious texts in order to pose questions about how how different we are we now in Silicon Valley. What are our traditions? Our faiths? Our foundational stories, or myths? Should we connect ourselves in deep ways to the most ancient past of civilization, or seek to distance ourselves from those origins? N.B. This is the first of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
COMPLIT 32Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East II -- Classic (DLCL 32Q, HISTORY 85Q, HUMCORE 32Q)
How should we live? This course explores two ethical pathways: mysticism and rationality. They seem to be opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow both at once. We will read works by successful judges, bureaucrats, academics, and lovers written between 700 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about professional success and politics. What would we do differently today? We certainly organize knowledge differently, but do we think about ethics the same way? N.B. This is the second of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
COMPLIT 33Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East III -- Future (DLCL 33Q, HUMCORE 33Q)
How do we face the future? What resources do we have? Which power structures hold us back and which empower us? What are our identities here at college on the far Western edge of the Western world? In 1850s Lebabnon, Abu Faris Shidyaq faced all these same questions except for the last of course though he did face a version of even that question, one proper to a mid-19th c. Christian magazine editor. In HumCore Middle East III - Future, we engage with global claims about identity culture and politics. Ganzeer's graphic novel speaks to California as much as to Egypt; Ataturk's speeches are about power and identity just like Donald Trump's. Whether in Turkish novels or Arabic poetry, the people we engage in this course are looking to their pasts and futures, just like us. N.B. This is the third of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 37Q:
Zionism and the Novel (JEWISHST 37Q)
At the end of the nineteenth century, Zionism emerged as a political movement to establish a national homeland for the Jews, eventually leading to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. This seminar uses novels to explore the changes in Zionism, the roots of the conflict in the Middle East, and the potentials for the future. We will take a close look at novels by Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, in order to understand multiple perspectives, and we will also consider works by authors from the North America and from Europe. Note: This course must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
COMPLIT 51Q:
Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity (AMSTUD 51Q, CSRE 51Q)
We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
COMPLIT 55N:
Batman, Hamilton, DÃaz, and Other Wondrous Lives (CSRE 55N)
This seminar concerns the design and analysis of imaginary (or constructed) worlds for narratives and media such as films, comics, and literary texts. The seminar's primary goal is to help participants understand the creation of better imaginary worlds - ultimately all our efforts should serve that higher purpose. Some of the things we will consider when taking on the analysis of a new world include: What are its primary features - spatial, cultural, biological, fantastic, cosmological? What is the world's ethos (the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize the world)? What are the precise strategies that are used by the artist to convey the world to us and us to the world? How are our characters connected to the world? And how are we - the viewer or reader or player - connected to the world? Note: This course must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 61Q:
The Literature of Lost Identity
<p>This course will explore tales of lost identity from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. Our stories feature orphans abandoned at birth, young heroes who must hide who they are, even cross-dressed knights on gender-bent adventures. The trials and tribulations of these displaced youths invite us to question what identity means and where it comes from. Are we made in our parents' image? What happens when we are separated from our family, or forced to take up a disguise? Are we defined by our birth and bloodline, or by education and experience? Our readings will include texts by Marie de France, Chrétien de Troyes, William Shakespeare, Philip Sidney, and Miguel de Cervantes.</p>
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 70N:
Animal Planet and the Romance of the Species (CHINA 70N)
Preference to freshmen.This course considers a variety of animal characters in Chinese and Western literatures as potent symbols of cultural values and dynamic sites of ethical reasoning. What does pervasive animal imagery tell us about how we relate to the world and our neighbors? How do animals define the frontiers of humanity and mediate notions of civilization and culture? How do culture, institutions, and political economy shape concepts of human rights and animal welfare? And, above all, what does it mean to be human in the pluralistic and planetary 21st century? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
COMPLIT 100:
CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People (DLCL 100, FRENCH 175, GERMAN 175, HISTORY 206E, ILAC 175, ITALIAN 175, URBANST 153)
This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
COMPLIT 101:
What Is Comparative Literature?
What is literature, and how has it been imagined, institutionalized, praised, and criticized over the centuries by authors ranging from Aristotle to Schiller, from Arnold to Auerbach, Woolf, Said, Achebe, Spivak and others, who have understood literature as a powerful tool for individual and social change? What does it mean to "compare" literature or study texts that belong or tap into more than one national literary and cultural tradition or consciously posit themselves as participating in international movements (such as European Decadence or Modernism), or authors who live and produce their work in transcultural contexts and often write in different languages, such as Samuel Beckett or Gloria Anzaldúa? How do markers of identity such as gender, sexuality, and race (and our changing conceptions of them over time) factor into our intellectual theories and practices in comparing texts and authors? Along with several case studies of texts and authors that will help us explore and probe these questions, we will also gain familiarity with major theories and developments in the field of comparative literature. NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 5 units and a letter grade to be eligible for WIM credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 103:
The Putin Phenomenon: Culture and Politics in Recent Russian History (SLAVIC 103)
A man who likes to ride horses shirtless. An autocrat who has shaped contemporary Russia and won't let go of the reins. A conniver who interferes in international democratic processes toward his own nefarious ends.nMore than a politician or an individual, "Putin" has become a catch-all that stands in for Russia as a whole. In this course, we'll attempt to separate the man from the myth and to understand the historical and cultural context behind Putin's policies. In the process, we will strive better to grasp contemporary Russian society as a complex and culturally rich environment, not just an oppressed land under the thumb of one man.nIn the course of our analysis, we will examine literary and cultural artifacts and expressive works that engage with political, social, and universal human problems in a Russian and post-Soviet context, interpreting and critiquing those cultural objects with an eye to aesthetic methods and qualities and also how they reflect historical and cultural elements of Russia over a 25-year period. Cultural products to be addressed include literature and film (and one graphic novel) from the Perestroika period through the present day. We will also read President Putin's autobiography, First Person, and several of his speeches, using techniques of literary analysis to parse the particular story about Russia that he aims to convey to Russians. By examining and exploring a range of cultural objects from Russia's recent history, we seek to understand the forces that contributed to social and political change over those years, the effect those changes had on ordinary (and extraordinary) Russians, and how those effects take on meaningful aesthetic form through creative expression.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
COMPLIT 110:
Introduction to Comparative Queer Literary Studies (COMPLIT 310, FEMGEN 110X, FEMGEN 310X)
Introduction to the comparative literary study of important gay, lesbian, queer, bisexual, and transgender writers and their changing social, political, and cultural contexts from the 1880s to today: Oscar Wilde, Rachilde, Radclyffe Hall, Djuna Barnes, James Baldwin, Jean Genet, Audre Lorde, Cherrie Moraga, Jeanette Winterson, Alison Bechdel and others, discussed in the context of 20th-century feminist and queer literary and social theories of gender and sexuality. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course 110 or 110X for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 121:
Poems, Poetry, Worlds (DLCL 141)
What is poetry? How does it speak in many voices to questions of philosophy, history, society, and personal experience? Why does it matter? The reading and interpretation of poetry in crosscultural comparison as experience, invention, form, sound, knowledge, and part of the world. The readings address poetry of several cultures (Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Occitania, Peru) in comparative relation to that of the English-speaking world, and in light of classic and recent theories of poetry.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 123:
The Novel and the World (DLCL 143)
<p><b>Before the Digital Era: the European Design of the Novel.</b> The course will trace the development of the modern literary genre par excellence through some of its great milestones from the 17th century to the present. Works by Austen, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Queiròs, Mann, Roth, Woolf, Lampedusa and Rodoreda.<em>Lazarillo de Tormes</em>, Jane Austen: <em>Pride and Prejudice</em>, Flaubert: <em>Madame Bovary</em>, Dostoevsky: <em>Crime and Punishment</em>, Eça de Queirós: <em>The City and the Mountains</em>, Thomas Mann: <em>Death in Venice</em>, Joseph Roth: <em>Radietskymarsh</em>, Virginia Woolf: <em>Mrs. Dalloway</em>, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, <em>The Leopard</em>, Mercé Rodoreda: <em>The Time of the Doves.</em></p>
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 124B:
European and North African Visions of the American West (AMSTUD 124B, DLCL 124B)
This course is an interdisciplinary investigation of the rewriting of the American West in the Mediterranean context through the transnational lenses of filmmakers and artists of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds, through primarily cinema, but also graphic novels, novels, and murals. How do these films and novels adopt and adapt the Western genre? How do these artistic endeavors tell us about the enduring aura and stereotypes of the American West mythology? Films: Jacques Audiard, The Sisters Brothers, Sergio Leone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, David Oelhoffen, Far From Men, Karl May, Winnetou, Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist, Agnès Varda, Mur murs. Special guest: photographer/street artist JR. Readings: Mark Twain, Joan Didion, Romain Gary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 127B:
The Hebrew and Jewish Short Story (JEWISHST 147B)
Short stories from Israel, the US and Europe including works by Agnon, Kafka, Keret, Castel-Bloom, Kashua, Singer, Benjamin, Freud, biblical myths and more. The class will engage with questions related to the short story as a literary form and the history of the short story. Reading and discussion in English. Optional: special section with readings and discussions in Hebrew. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
COMPLIT 132:
The Grandeur of Epic: Poetry, Narrative, and World from Homer to Evolutionary Biology (CLASSICS 130)
Explores the mystery and power of epic. This ancient word, which at its root means "what is spoken," first classified certain traditions of archaic Greek poetry, especially Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. It now appears everywhere from slang to contemporary scientific discourse. Though some might dismiss its proliferation as an accident of everyday speech, the course will take the phenomenon of "epic" seriously, asking what it is about this oldest of genres that continues to inspire our collective imagination. Readings will include works of epic as well as theoretical and philosophical works on narrative, religion, and science. We will read substantial selections from the Iliad, Hesiod's poems, the Hebrew Bible, the Gospels, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion, and Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 133A:
Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean (AFRICAAM 133, AFRICAST 132, COMPLIT 233A, FRENCH 133, JEWISHST 143)
This course aims to equip students with an understanding of the cultural, social, and political aspects at play in the literatures of Francophone Africa and the Caribbean of the 20th and 21st century. Our primary readings will be Francophone novels and poetry. We will also read some theoretical texts. The assigned readings will expose students to literature from diverse French-speaking regions of the African/Caribbean world. This course will also serve as a "literary toolbox," with the intention of facilitating an understanding of literary genres, and terms. Students can expect to work on their production of written and spoken French, in addition to reading comprehension. Special guest: Moroccan author Meryem Alaoui. Required readings include: Aime Cesaire, Maryse Condé, Fatou Diome, Dany Laferriere, Leonara Miano, Albert Memmi. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 124 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 142B:
Translating Japan, Translating the West (JAPAN 121, JAPAN 221)
Translation lies at the heart of all intercultural exchange. This course introduces students to the specific ways in which translation has shaped the image of Japan in the West, the image of the West in Japan, and Japan's self-image in the modern period. What texts and concepts were translated by each side, how, and to what effect? No prior knowledge of Japanese language necessary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 145:
Reflection on the Other: The Jew and the Arab in Literature (AMELANG 126, JEWISHST 106)
How literary works outside the realm of Western culture struggle with questions such as identity, minority, and the issue of the Other. How the Arab is viewed in Hebrew literature, film and music and how the Jew is viewed in Palestinian works in Hebrew or Arabic (in translation to English). Historical, political, and sociological forces that have contributed to the shaping of these writers' views. Guest lectures about the Jew in Palestinian literature and music. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 147S:
Islam and the Western Imagination (CSRE 147S, FRENCH 247, FRENCH 347, HISTORY 230J)
With fear of Islamic terrorism running high and restrictive immigration policies at home, it is more urgent than ever to understand the complex and changing relations between Islam and the West, the West and Islam. Using France's history and culture as a main study case, along with other Western contexts, this course will look at the long history of Europe's interactions with the Muslim world, as well as the presence of Islam and Muslims in the West, from the 7th century to the present day. Uncovering the long and complex relationship between France and Islam, historical, literary and media sources will help us explore early Christian myths about Islam, the period of European coexistence, European colonialism in North Africa and the Middle East, the place of feminism in Western-Muslim relations, (post)colonial immigration and finally, a post-9/11 world order characterized by new forms of Islamophobia. In the context of the course, students will be exposed to primary sources including audiovisual materials, literature, manifestos, and theory. Readings will be in English (and optional readings in French for students who would prefer to read in French).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 149:
The Laboring of Diaspora & Border Literary Cultures (CSRE 149, ILAC 149)
Focus is given to emergent theories of culture and on comparative literary and cultural studies. How do we treat culture as a social force? How do we go about reading the presence of social contexts within cultural texts? How do ethno-racial writers re-imagine the nation as a site with many "cognitive maps" in which the nation-state is not congruent with cultural identity? How do diaspora and border narratives/texts strive for comparative theoretical scope while remaining rooted in specific local histories. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 151T:
Global Great Books: Dramatic Dialogues (COMPLIT 351T, TAPS 151T, TAPS 351)
The most influential and enduring texts in the dramatic canon from Sophocles to Shakespeare, Chekhov to Soyinka. Their historical and geopolitical contexts. Questions about the power dynamics involved in the formation of canons. This course counts as a Writing in the Major course for TAPS in 2016-17.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 154A:
Film & Philosophy (ENGLISH 154F, FRENCH 154, ITALIAN 154, PHIL 193C, PHIL 293C)
Issues of authenticity, morality, personal identity, and the value of truth explored through film; philosophical investigation of the filmic medium itself. Screenings to include Blade Runner (Scott), Do The Right Thing (Lee), The Seventh Seal (Bergman), Fight Club (Fincher), La Jetée (Marker), Memento (Nolan), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Kaufman). Taught in English.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 172:
A History of Nature Through Literature and Art
In light of impending ecological collapse and climate catastrophe, eco-critics assert the need to abandon the concept of Nature. As it has developed in European literature and art, Nature "is an arbitrary rhetorical construct, empty of independent, genuine existence behind or beyond the texts we create about it" (Morton 22) What, then, is Nature? Does Nature exist outside of the texts and artwork that claim to represent it? What concepts can we develop to take its place? In this course, we will assess the history of Nature through European literature and art from the sixteenth century to the present day. Of particular focus will be the history of landscape painting, the pastoral tradition in the Renaissance, Enlightenment debates on the state of nature, Romantic poetry and the writings of Thoreau, John Muir, and Rachel Carson. Reading literature and art from a diversity of historical moments and cultural contexts permits a critical reassessment of our own conceptions of Nature and those of contemporary political and economic discourses. This course aims to empower students to construct their own conceptions of Nature and bring literature, history, and art to bear on contemporary debates about the environment and climate change, gender and sexuality, government and power.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 181:
Philosophy and Literature (CLASSICS 42, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181)
What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 193:
The Hindu Epics and the Ethics of Dharma (CLASSICS 125, RELIGST 123)
The two great Hindu Epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, offer a sustained reflection on the nature of virtuous living in the face of insoluble ethical dilemmas. Their treatment of the concept of dharma, understood simultaneously as ethical action and the universal order that upholds the cosmos, lies at the heart of both Gandhian non-violent resistance and communalist interreligious conflict. This course will focus on a reading of selections from the Epics in English translation, supplemented with a consideration of how the texts have been interpreted in South Asian literary history and contemporary politics and public life in India.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
COMPLIT 199:
Senior Seminar
What is criticism? When we interpret literature today, are we fulfilling the critical vocation? What are the alternatives? We consider the origins of the idea of the critic in nineteenth-century culture, its development in the twentieth century, and its current exponents, revisionists, and dissenters. Senior seminar for Comparative Literature Senior majors only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
COMPLIT 222A:
Myth and Modernity (GERMAN 222, GERMAN 322, JEWISHST 242G, JEWISHST 342)
Masters of German 20th- and 21st-Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English. Note for German Studies grad students: GERMAN 322 will fulfill the grad core requirement since GERMAN 332 is not being offered this year. NOTE: Enrollment requires Professor Eshel's consent. Please contact him directly at eshel@stanford.edu and answer these 2 questions: "Why do you want to take this course?" and "What do you think you can add to the discussion?" Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 229B:
Camus (CSRE 129, FRENCH 129, HISTORY 235F)
"The Don Draper of Existentialism" for Adam Gopnik, "the ideal husband of contemporary letters" for Susan Sontag, and "the admirable conjunction of a man, of an action, and of a work" for Sartre, Camus embodies the very French figure of the "intellectuel engagé," or public intellectual. From his birth in 1913 into a poor family in Algeria to the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957, from Saint Germain-des-Prés to his predilection for the mediterranean culture, Camus captured the quest for universalism, for the politics of justice, and engaged in the great ethical battles of his time, from the fight against nazism and communism, from questioning colonial rules to the haunting Algerian War, and his complex "silence" over the war. Camus the Algerian, Camus the moralist, Camus the Resistant: through readings and films, we will explore his multiple, long-lasting legacies. Readings from Albert Camus, Kamel Daoud, Mouloud Feraoun, Alice Kaplan, Orhan Pamuk, A.B. Yehoshua, Assia Djebar, Jean-Paul Sartre, Yasmina Khadra. Movies include "The Stranger," and "Far from Men." This course is a gateway for French Studies, with special emphasis on oral proficiency. Taught in French.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 233A:
Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean (AFRICAAM 133, AFRICAST 132, COMPLIT 133A, FRENCH 133, JEWISHST 143)
This course aims to equip students with an understanding of the cultural, social, and political aspects at play in the literatures of Francophone Africa and the Caribbean of the 20th and 21st century. Our primary readings will be Francophone novels and poetry. We will also read some theoretical texts. The assigned readings will expose students to literature from diverse French-speaking regions of the African/Caribbean world. This course will also serve as a "literary toolbox," with the intention of facilitating an understanding of literary genres, and terms. Students can expect to work on their production of written and spoken French, in addition to reading comprehension. Special guest: Moroccan author Meryem Alaoui. Required readings include: Aime Cesaire, Maryse Condé, Fatou Diome, Dany Laferriere, Leonara Miano, Albert Memmi. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 124 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 249A:
The Iranian Cinema: Image and Meaning (GLOBAL 249A)
This course will focus on the analysis of ten Iranian films with the view of placing them in discourse on the semiotics of Iranian art and culture. The course will also look at the influence of a wide array of cinematic traditions from European, American, and Asian masters on Iranian cinema. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 249B:
Iranian Cinema in Diaspora (GLOBAL 249B)
Despite enormous obstacles, immigrant Iranian filmmakers, within a few decades (after the Iranian Revolution), have created a slow but steady stream of films outside Iran. They were originally started by individual spontaneous attempts from different corners of the world and by now we can identify common lines of interest amongst them. There are also major differences between them. These films have never been allowed to be screened inside Iran, and without any support from the global system of production and distribution, as independent and individual attempts, they have enjoyed little attention. Despite all this, Iranian cinema in exile is in no sense any less important than Iranian cinema inside Iran. In this course we will view one such film, made outside Iran, in each class meeting and expect to reach a common consensus in identifying the general patterns within these works and this movement. Questions such as the ones listed below will be addressed in our meetings each week: What changes in aesthetics and point of view of the filmmaker are caused by the change in his or her work environment? Though unwantedly these films are made outside Iran, how related are they to the known (recognized) cinema within Iran? And in fact, to what extent do these films express things that are left unsaid by the cinema within Iran? NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 249C:
Contemporary Iranian Theater (GLOBAL 249C)
Today, Iranian plays both in traditional and contemporary styles are staged in theater festivals throughout the world and play their role in forming a universal language of theater which combine the heritages from countries in all five continents. Despite many obstacles, some Iranian plays have been translated into English and some prominent Iranian figures are successful stage directors outside Iran. Forty-six years ago when "Theater in Iran" (a monograph on the history of Iranian plays) by Bahram Beyzaie was first published, it put the then contemporary Iranian theater movement "which was altogether westernizing itself blindly" face to face with a new kind of self-awareness. Hence, today's generation of playwrights and stage directors in Iran, all know something of their theatrical heritage. In this course we will spend some class sessions on the history of theater in Iran and some class meetings will be concentrating on contemporary movements and present day playwrights. Given the dearth of visual documents, an attempt will be made to present a picture of Iranian theater to the student. Students are expected to read the recommended available translated plays of the contemporary Iranian playwrights and participate in classroom discussions. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 252A:
Great Arabic Poetry
Introduction to the canon of Arabic poetry from the sixth to the twenty-first century. Imru' al-Qays, al-Mutanabbi, Mahmud Darwish, and more. Readings in Arabic. Two years of Arabic at Stanford or equivalent required. Counts for the Arabic Track in the MELLAC Minor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
COMPLIT 252B:
Great Arabic Prose
Introduction to the best Arabic Literature from the 790s to 2016. Al-Jahiz, Naguib Mahfouz, and much more. Readings in Arabic. Two years of Arabic at Stanford or equivalent required. Counts for the Arabic Track in the MELLAC Minor. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
COMPLIT 253:
Hannah Arendt: Facing Totalitarianism (GERMAN 253, JEWISHST 243A)
Like hardly any other thinker of the modern age, Hannah Arendtss thought offers us timeless insights into the fabric of the modern age, especially regarding the perennial danger of totalitarianism. This course offers an in-depth introduction to Arendt's most important works in their various contexts, as well as a consideration of their reverberations in contemporary philosophy and literature. Readings include Arendt's <em>The Origin of Totalitarianism</em>, <em>The Human Condition, Between Past and Future</em>, <em>Men in Dark Times</em>, <em>On Revolution</em>,<em>Eichmann in Jerusalem</em>, and <em>The Life of the Mind</em>, as well as considerations of Hannah Arendt's work by Max Frisch, Jürgen Habermas, Seyla Benhabib, Judith Butler, Giorgio Agamben, and others. Special attention will be given to Arendt's writings on literature with emphasis on Kafka, Brecht, Auden, Sartre, and Camus.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
COMPLIT 260B:
Love and Negativity in Medieval Persian Mysticism
An analysis of apophatic discourses of love in medieval Persian mystical texts, 800-1300 AD. The philosophical underpinnings and implications of Sufi thought are discussed in this course. The principal aim, however, is to shed light on the radical poetic force of the Persian texts. Topics to be addressed include the fundamentally oral, temporal nature of mystic speech; the relation of the speaking I to the unknown and unknowable Other; the discourse of love in which God and the beloved are one; the linguistic fragmentation of mystical discourse, straining against the edges of meaning; the possibility of salvaging mystical experience in language; and, finally, the question of apophasis as a theologically and politically subversive act. Primary readings include texts on and by Bayazid Bastami (800-874), Mansur al-Hallaj (857-922), Ayn al-Qozat al-Hamadani (1098-1131), Ruzbihan Baqli (1128-1209), Farid al-Din Attar (1145/46-1221), Shahab ad-Din al-Suhrawardi (1154-1191), and Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273). These texts will be complemented by readings from Georges Bataille, Maurice Blanchot, Michel de Certeau, Jacques Derrida, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Emmanuel Levinas, and Paul Ricoeur, among others. Taught in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CSRE 1T:
The Public Life of Science and Technology (STS 1)
The course focuses on key social, cultural, and values issues raised by contemporary scientific and technological developments through the STS interdisciplinary lens by developing and applying skills in three areas: (a) The historical analysis of contemporary global matters (e.g., spread of technologies; climate change response); (b) The bioethical reasoning around health issues (e.g., disease management; privacy rights); and (c) The sociological study of knowledge (e.g., intellectual property, science publishing). A discussion section is required and will be assigned the first week of class.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CSRE 39:
Long Live Our 4Bil. Year Old Mother: Black Feminist Praxis, Indigenous Resistance, Queer Possibility (AFRICAAM 39, FEMGEN 39, NATIVEAM 39)
How can art facilitate a culture that values women, mothers, transfolks, caregivers, girls? How can black, indigenous, and people of color frameworks help us reckon with oppressive systems that threaten safety and survival for marginalized people and the lands that sustain us? How can these questions reveal the brilliant and inventive forms of survival that precede and transcend harmful systems toward a world of possibility? Each week, this course will call on artists, scholars, and organizers of color who clarify the urgency and interconnection of issues from patriarchal violence to environmental degradation; criminalization to legacies of settler colonialism. These same thinkers will also speak to the imaginative, everyday knowledge and creative healing practices that our forebears have used for millennia to give vision and rise to true transformation.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 41:
Black & White Race Relations in American Fiction & Film (AFRICAAM 101, AMSTUD 101)
Movies and the fiction that inspires them; power dynamics behind production including historical events, artistic vision, politics, and racial stereotypes. What images of black and white does Hollywood produce to forge a national identity? How do films promote equality between the races? What is lost or gained in film adaptations of books? NOTE: Students must attend the first day; admission to the class will be determined based on an in class essay.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 51Q:
Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity (AMSTUD 51Q, COMPLIT 51Q)
We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
CSRE 55N:
Batman, Hamilton, DÃaz, and Other Wondrous Lives (COMPLIT 55N)
This seminar concerns the design and analysis of imaginary (or constructed) worlds for narratives and media such as films, comics, and literary texts. The seminar's primary goal is to help participants understand the creation of better imaginary worlds - ultimately all our efforts should serve that higher purpose. Some of the things we will consider when taking on the analysis of a new world include: What are its primary features - spatial, cultural, biological, fantastic, cosmological? What is the world's ethos (the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize the world)? What are the precise strategies that are used by the artist to convey the world to us and us to the world? How are our characters connected to the world? And how are we - the viewer or reader or player - connected to the world? Note: This course must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 61:
Introduction to Dance Studies: Dancing Across Stages, Clubs, Screens, and Borders (DANCE 161D, FEMGEN 161D, TAPS 161D)
This introduction to dance studies course explores dance practice and performance as means for producing cultural meaning. Through theoretical and historical texts and viewing live and recorded dance, we will develop tools for analyzing dance and understanding its place in social, cultural, and political structures. This uses dance and choreography as a lens to more deeply understand a wide range of identity and cultural formations, such as gender, race, sexuality, (dis)ability, (trans)nationality, and empire. We will analyze dancing bodies that move across stages, dance clubs, film screens, and border zones. We will examine dance from diverse locales and time periods including ballet, modern and contemporary dance, contact improvisation, folkloric dance, burlesque, street dance, queer club dance, drag performance, music videos, TV dance competitions, and intermedia/new media performance. In addition to providing theoretical and methodological grounding in dance studies, this course develops performance analysis skills and hones the ability to write critically and skillfully about dance. No previous experience in dance is necessary to successfully complete the course.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 78:
Art + Community: Division, Resilience & Reconciliation (AFRICAAM 78)
Violence and trauma isolates and segregates us. Part of the healing process must be about coming back into community. Freedom is meaningful only insofar as it lifts all, especially those who have been done the most harm. In times of violence and polarization, art can heal and brings people together. In this course, we will explore how we make and sustain community, especially in the face of threats from within and without. We will do this especially through examining how artists and culture workers of color develop and advance practices that build mutuality, criticality, renewal, trust, and joy in the face of ongoing racial injustice and cultural inequity.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 95I:
Revolutionary Practices: Space and Public Discourse in Iran (GLOBAL 145)
The course examines the mediums of public art that have been voices of social change, protest and expressions of community desire in Iran. It will offer a unique glimpse into Iran's contemporary art and visual culture through the investigation of public art practices such as graffiti and street art, as well as older traditions of oral storytelling such as Naghali and Iranian Coffeehouse Painting. Iranian case studies will be expanded in comparison with local and global examples, while students examine the infrastructural conditions of public art, such as civic, public, and private funding, relationships with local communities, and the life of these projects as they move in and out of the artworld. This encompassing view anchors a legacy of Iranian cultural contributions in larger trajectories of art history, contemporary art, and community arts practice. The class format is both lecture and art studio practice. Students will propose either new public art works or research to provoke their own ideas while engaging the ever-changing state of public discourse in these case studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CSRE 102A:
Art and Social Criticism (AFRICAAM 102B, AMSTUD 102, ARTHIST 162B, FEMGEN 102)
Visual artists have long been in the forefront of social criticism in America. Since the 1960s, various visual strategies have helped emergent progressive political movements articulate and represent complex social issues. Which artists and particular art works/projects have become key anchors for discourses on racism, sexism, economic and social inequality, immigrant rights and climate change? We will learn about a spectrum of political art designed to raise social awareness, spark social change and rouse protest. The Art Workers Coalition's agit-prop opposing the Vietnam War and ACT-UP's emblematic signs and symbols during the AIDS/HIV crisis of the 1980s galvanized a generation into action. Works such as Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party (1979), Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum (1992), and Glenn Ligon's paintings appropriating fragments from African-American literature all raised awareness by excavating historical evidence of the long legacy resisting marginalization. For three decades feminist artists Adrian Piper, Barbara Kruger and the Guerilla Girls have combined institutional critique and direct address into a provocative form of criticality. Recent art for social justice is reaching ever broadening publics by redrawing the role of artist and audience exemplified by the democratization of poster making and internet campaigns of Occupy and the Movement for Black Lives. We will also consider the collective aesthetic activisms in the Post-Occupy era including Global Ultra Luxury Faction, Climate Justice art projects, and the visual culture of Trump era mass protests. Why are each of these examples successful as influential and enduring markers of social criticism? What have these socially responsive practices contributed to our understanding of American history?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 111:
The California Missions: Art History and Reconciliation (ARTHIST 211, NATIVEAM 211)
Sites of the spirit and devotion, sites of genocide, foreboding actors in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, the subject of fourth-grade school projects, the Spanish Missions of Alta California are complex sites of inquiry, their meanings and associations different for each visitor. This seminar examines the art and architecture of the California Missions built between 1769 and 1823. Constructed with local materials and decorated with reredos, paintings and sculptures from Mexico and Spain, the Missions are at once humble spaces and flagships of a belated global baroque. They were also the laboratories of indigenous artists and artisans. This course seeks to understand how Mission art was meant to function, how and why it was made, what its materials were, while asking what the larger role of art was in a global system of missions. Can the study of this art lead to the reconciliation of populations in North America and within the field of art history? The Missions require a specific reexamination of the relationship between European and colonial forms, not as objects of curiosity or diffusion but as viable and globally informed agents.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 117D:
Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film (AFRICAAM 117J, AMSTUD 117, ASNAMST 117D, FEMGEN 117F)
This course introduces students to the theoretical and analytical frameworks necessary to critically understand constructions of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary American film. Through a sustained engagement with a range of independent and Hollywood films produced since the 1990s, students analyze the ways that cinematic representations have both reflected and constructed dominant notions of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States. Utilizing an intersectional framework that sees race, gender, and sexuality as always defined by one another, the course examines the ways that dominant notions of difference have been maintained and contested through film in the United States. Films to be discussed include Better Luck Tomorrow, La La Land, Mosquita y Mari, Get Out, and Moonlight.nTO BE ADDED TO THE WAITLIST: Please email williamgow@stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 118D:
Musics and Appropriation Throughout the World (AFRICAAM 218, MUSIC 118)
This course critically examines musical practices and appropriation through the amplification of intersectionality. We consider musics globally through recourse to ethnomusicological literature and critical race theories. Our approach begins from an understanding that the social and political contexts where musics are created, disseminated, and consumed inform disparate interpretations and meanings of music, as well as its sounds. Our goal is to shape our ears to hear the effects of slavery, colonialism, capitalism, nationalism, class, gender difference, militarism, and activism. We interrogate the process of appropriating musics throughout the world by making the power structures that shape privileges and exclusions audible.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 129:
Camus (COMPLIT 229B, FRENCH 129, HISTORY 235F)
"The Don Draper of Existentialism" for Adam Gopnik, "the ideal husband of contemporary letters" for Susan Sontag, and "the admirable conjunction of a man, of an action, and of a work" for Sartre, Camus embodies the very French figure of the "intellectuel engagé," or public intellectual. From his birth in 1913 into a poor family in Algeria to the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957, from Saint Germain-des-Prés to his predilection for the mediterranean culture, Camus captured the quest for universalism, for the politics of justice, and engaged in the great ethical battles of his time, from the fight against nazism and communism, from questioning colonial rules to the haunting Algerian War, and his complex "silence" over the war. Camus the Algerian, Camus the moralist, Camus the Resistant: through readings and films, we will explore his multiple, long-lasting legacies. Readings from Albert Camus, Kamel Daoud, Mouloud Feraoun, Alice Kaplan, Orhan Pamuk, A.B. Yehoshua, Assia Djebar, Jean-Paul Sartre, Yasmina Khadra. Movies include "The Stranger," and "Far from Men." This course is a gateway for French Studies, with special emphasis on oral proficiency. Taught in French.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 140S:
Casablanca - Algiers - Tunis : Cities on the Edge (AFRICAAM 236B, FRENCH 236, FRENCH 336, HISTORY 245C, URBANST 140F)
Casablanca, Algiers and Tunis embody three territories, real and imaginary, which never cease to challenge the preconceptions of travelers setting sight on their shores. In this class, we will explore the myriad ways in which these cities of North Africa, on the edge of Europe and of Africa, have been narrated in literature, cinema, and popular culture. We will look at the historical development shaping their respective architecture and why they became the three major urban centers in North Africa. Home to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, they are an ebullient laboratory of social, political, religious, and cultural issues, global and local, between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. We will look at mass images of these cities, from films to maps, novels to photographs, sketching a new vision of these magnets as places where power, social rituals, legacies of the Ottoman and French colonial past, and the influence of the global economy collude and collide. Special focus on class, gender, and race. Open to both undergrad and grad students!
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 146D:
New Keywords in African Sound (AFRICAAM 146D, AFRICAST 146M, MUSIC 146M, MUSIC 246M)
This course identifies and considers new keywords for the study of contemporary African music and sound. Each week we will foster discussion around a keyword and a constellation of case studies. The sonic practices we will encounter range from South African house music to Ghanaian honk horns; from Congolese rumba bands to Tunisian trance singers; from listening to the radio in a Tanzanian homestead to making hip hop music videos on the Kenyan coast. By exploring the unexpected interconnections between contemporary African musical communities, we will discuss new keywords arising in current scholarship, including technologies like the amplifier and the hard drive, spaces like the studio and the city, and analytics like pleasure and hotness. We will also engage with established concepts for the study of postcolonial African cultures, including nationalism, cosmopolitanism, globalization, diaspora, and Pan-Africanism. This is a seminar-based course open to graduate students, upper level undergraduate students, and other students with consent of the instructor. Proficiency in music is not required. WIM at 4 units only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CSRE 146J:
Studies in Ethnomusicology: Listening to the Local: Music Ethnography of the Bay Area (ANTHRO 146J, MUSIC 146J, MUSIC 246J)
An introduction to music ethnography through student research on musical life in the Bay Area. Focus is on the intersections of music, social life, and cultural practice by engaging with people as they perform music and culture in situ. Techniques taught include participant-observation, interviewing and oral history, writing field-notes, recording, transcription, analysis, and ethnographic writing. Pre-/co-requisite (for music majors): MUSIC 22. (WIM at 4 units only.)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 147D:
Studies in Music, Media, and Popular Culture: Music and Urban Film (MUSIC 147K, MUSIC 247K)
How music and sound work in urban cinema. What happens when music's capacity to transform everyday reality combines with the realism of urban films? Provides an introduction to traditional theories of film music and film sound; considers how new technologies and practices have changed the roles of music in film. Readings discuss film music, realistic cinema, urban musical practices and urban culture. Viewing includes action/adventure, Hindi film, documentary, film noir, hip hop film, the musical, and borderline cases by Jean-Luc Godard, Spike Lee, Wong Kar-Wai and Tsai Ming-Liang. Pre- or corequisite (for music majors): MUSIC 22. (WIM at 4 unit level only.)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 147S:
Islam and the Western Imagination (COMPLIT 147S, FRENCH 247, FRENCH 347, HISTORY 230J)
With fear of Islamic terrorism running high and restrictive immigration policies at home, it is more urgent than ever to understand the complex and changing relations between Islam and the West, the West and Islam. Using France's history and culture as a main study case, along with other Western contexts, this course will look at the long history of Europe's interactions with the Muslim world, as well as the presence of Islam and Muslims in the West, from the 7th century to the present day. Uncovering the long and complex relationship between France and Islam, historical, literary and media sources will help us explore early Christian myths about Islam, the period of European coexistence, European colonialism in North Africa and the Middle East, the place of feminism in Western-Muslim relations, (post)colonial immigration and finally, a post-9/11 world order characterized by new forms of Islamophobia. In the context of the course, students will be exposed to primary sources including audiovisual materials, literature, manifestos, and theory. Readings will be in English (and optional readings in French for students who would prefer to read in French).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 149:
The Laboring of Diaspora & Border Literary Cultures (COMPLIT 149, ILAC 149)
Focus is given to emergent theories of culture and on comparative literary and cultural studies. How do we treat culture as a social force? How do we go about reading the presence of social contexts within cultural texts? How do ethno-racial writers re-imagine the nation as a site with many "cognitive maps" in which the nation-state is not congruent with cultural identity? How do diaspora and border narratives/texts strive for comparative theoretical scope while remaining rooted in specific local histories. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 151D:
Migration and Diaspora in American Art, 1800-Present (AMSTUD 151, ARTHIST 151, ARTHIST 351, ASNAMST 151D)
This lecture course explores American art through the lens of immigration, exile, and diaspora. We will examine a wide range of work by immigrant artists and craftsmen, paying special attention to issues of race and ethnicity, assimilation, displacement, and political turmoil. Artists considered include Emmanuel Leutze, Thomas Cole, Joseph Stella, Chiura Obata, Willem de Kooning, Mona Hatoum, and Julie Mehretu, among many others. How do works of art reflect and help shape cultural and individual imaginaries of home and belonging?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 152K:
Mixed-Race Politics and Culture (AFRICAAM 226, AMSTUD 152K, ENGLISH 152K)
Today, almost one-third of Americans identify with a racial/ethnic minority group, and more than 9 million Americans identify with multiple races. What are the implications of such diversity for American politics and culture? This course approaches issues of race from an interdisciplinary perspective, employing research in the social sciences and humanities to assess how race shapes perceptions of identity as well as political behavior in 21st-century U.S. Issues surrounding the role of multiculturalism, immigration, acculturation, racial representation, and racial prejudice in American society. Topics include the political and social formation of race; racial representation in the media, arts, and popular culture; the rise and decline of the "one-drop rule" and its effect on political and cultural attachments; the politicization of census categories and the rise of the multiracial movement.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 153Q:
Reading and Writing the Gendered Story (FEMGEN 153Q)
Exploration of novels, stories, memoirs and micro-narratives in which gender plays a major role. The texts are by writers of varied genders and sexual orientations as well as varied class, racial and national backgrounds. Written assignments present a mixture of academic and creative options.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
CSRE 154D:
Black Magic: Ethnicity, Race, and Identity in Performance Cultures (AFRICAAM 154G, FEMGEN 154G, TAPS 154G)
In 2013, CaShawn Thompson devised a Twitter hashtag, #blackgirlmagic, to celebrate the beauty and intelligence of black women. Twitter users quickly adopted the slogan, using the hashtag to celebrate everyday moments of beauty, accomplishment, and magic. In contrast, #blackmagic is used to describe everything from the uncanny to the personal. This course examines the discursive phenomenon of "black magic" and its permutations throughout Anglo-American histories. We will investigate the binaries of black/dark, white/light magic that has entered our contemporary lexicon, reading material on religion, magic performance, and theater.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 156X:
Theater of Dissent: Social Movements, Migration, and Revolution in the Americas (TAPS 156X)
TAPS 156X is an introductory level course that considers how theatre and performance provide a vital platform to examine political dissonance, the mobilities and (im)mobilities that shape transnational migration, and the formation of Latinx/Chicanx identity in the Americas. We will further examine the differences between key terminology in performance, including the notion of Latinidad, by looking at different aesthetic and socio-cultural performance practices and methodologies, re-occuring performance themes, and site-specific performance in the Americas. This course will primarily concentrate on works written in/about the Western Pacific US Southwest, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Cuba, and Colombia through a variety of theatrical play texts, recorded performances, workshops, and creative projects.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 159I:
Literature and Protest (AFRICAAM 159A, ENGLISH 159A)
How does literary art get involved in politics? What is the border between propaganda and art? This class examines moments when writers seem suddenly not only to represent politically charged topics and themes, but to have a part in bringing about political change. We¿ll look at case studies from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the American Civil Rights struggle, 19th century Russia, and more.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 160M:
Introduction to Representations of the Middle East in Dance, Performance, & Popular Culture (DANCE 160M, FEMGEN 160M, TAPS 160M)
This course will introduce students to the ways in which the Middle East has been represented and performed by/in the 'West' through dance, performance, and popular culture in both historical and contemporary contexts. A brief look through today's media sources exposes a wide range of racialized and gendered representations of the Middle East that shape the way the world imagines the Middle East to be. As postcolonial theorist Edward Said explains, the framework we call Orientalism establishes the ontological character of the Orient and the Oriental as inherently `Other'. Starting with 19th century colonialism and continuing into the post-9/11 era, this course will trace the Western production, circulation, and consumption of representations of the Middle East as 'Other' in relation to global geopolitics. We will further examine dance forms produced in mid-twentieth century Iran and Egypt, with particular attention to nation-state building and constructions of gender. Finally, we will examine artistic productions and practices from the Middle East and Middle Eastern diasporic communities that respond to colonialism, war, displacement, secularism, and Euro-American Empire. Using dance studies, postcolonial feminist, and critical race theoretical frameworks, we will consider the gender, racial, political, and cultural implications of selected performance works and practices in order to analyze how bodies produce meaning in dance, performance art, theater, film, photography, and new media. Students will engage in multiple modes of learning; the course will include lectures, engaged group discussions, viewing of live and recorded performance, embodied participation in dance practice, student oral presentations, and a variety of writing exercises. Course assignments will culminate in a final research project related to class themes and methods.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 162D:
Latin/x America in Motion: An Introduction to Dance Studies (CHILATST 162, DANCE 162L, TAPS 162L, TAPS 262L)
This course introduces students to the field of Dance Studies by examining the histories of Latin American and Caribbean dances and their relationship to developing notions of race and nation in the Americas. We will study the historical emergence and transformation of ¿indigeneity,¿ ¿blackness,¿ ¿whiteness,¿ and ¿Latin/@/x¿ and consider how dance practices interacted with these identifications. No prior experience with Dance or Latin America and the Caribbean necessary.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 167:
Feminism and Contemporary Art (ARTHIST 176, ARTHIST 376, FEMGEN 176)
(Same as ARTHIST 176) The impact of second wave feminism on art making and art historical practice in the 70s, and its reiteration and transformation in contemporary feminist work. Topics: sexism and art history, feminist studio programs in the 70s, essentialism and self-representation, themes of domesticity, the body in feminist art making, bad girls, the exclusion of women of color and lesbians from the art historical mainstream, notions of performativity.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 183:
Re- Imagining American Borders (AMSTUD 183, FEMGEN 183)
In this second volatile and violent year of the Trump presidency, American borders of all kinds seem to be dangerously tight. Immigrant travel bans and ICE deportations, mass incarceration, gendered violence, racialized attacks, urban and rural divisions emphasizing class, and constant social media anger all underscore a vision of an America of intractable difference. This course investigates sources of these borderlines and most crucially how novelists, filmmakers, poets, visual artists and essayists perceive racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, religious and class borders in this country as they may ¿re-imagine¿ difference possibly via Vijay Prashad¿s ¿polyculturalism¿ or Gloria Anzaldùa¿s ¿borderlands.¿ Texts include those of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Boots Riley, Dee Rees, Ryan Coogler, Magdalena Gomez, Janice Lobo Sapigao, Layli Long Soldier, Naomi Shihab Nye, Edwidge Danticat, Sherman Alexie, Shailja Patel, Beyonce, Kara Walker, and the podcast ¿Ear Hustle,¿ narratives created and produced from inside San Quentin. Course work includes active discussion, journal entries, one comparative analytical essay and a creative final project/with analytical paper examining personal or community identities.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 188Q:
Imagining Women: Writers in Print and in Person (FEMGEN 188Q)
Gender roles, gender relations and sexual identity explored in contemporary literature and conversation with guest authors. Weekly meetings designated for book discussion and meeting with authors. Interest in writing and a curiosity about diverse women's lives would be helpful to students. Students will use such tools as close reading, research, analysis and imagination. Seminar requires strong voice of all participants. Oral presentations, discussion papers, final projects.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
CSRE 194KT:
Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: The Last Hopi On Earth: The Rhetoric of Entertainment Inequity (PWR 194KT)
While #OscarsSoWhite brought attention to the Academy's overwhelmingly White, male membership, the underbelly of the entertainment industry itself is rife with inequitable hiring of not only on-camera and on-stage performers but also directors, writers, and others behind the scenes. While there are several organizations from Racebending.com to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media that seek to usher in more equitable representation, push back against the Industry's disparate employment practices has been documented for more than fifty years with what many argue is not proportionally positive movement. White males still garner almost half of all theatrical and television roles and represent more than 80% of episodic directors while entertainment hubs Los Angeles and New York City are more than 50% people of color and female. What will it take to attain equity in the entertainment industry? Why does it matter? nnIn this course, students will examine rhetorical issues in promoting, defending, and opposing entertainment industry practices - writing and speaking across genres in persuasive response - and ultimately develop a collaborative 5-year strategic plan to usher in equity.n nThis course is part of the PWR advanced elective track in Social and Racial Justice (SRJ). Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For video course description, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-courses/last-hopi-earth-rhetoric-entertainment-inequity.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 249:
The Algerian Wars (FRENCH 249, HISTORY 239G, JEWISHST 249)
From Algiers the White to Algiers the Red, Algiers, the Mecca of the Revolutionaries in the words of Amilcar Cabral, this course offers to study the Algerian Wars since the French conquest of Algeria (1830-) to the Algerian civil war of the 1990s. We will revisit the ways in which the war has been narrated in literature and cinema, popular culture, and political discourse. A special focus will be given to the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). The course considers the racial representations of the war in the media, the continuing legacies surrounding the conflict in France, Africa, and the United States, from Che Guevara to the Black Panthers. A key focus will be the transmission of collective memory through transnational lenses, and analyses of commemorative events and movies. nReadings from James Baldwin, Assia Djebar, Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon, Mouloud Feraoun. Movies include "The Battle of Algiers," "Days of Glory," and "Viva Laldjérie." nTaught in English.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CSRE 258:
Black Feminist Theater and Theory (AFRICAAM 258, FEMGEN 258X, TAPS 258)
From the rave reviews garnered by Angelina Weld Grimke's lynching play, Rachel to recent work by Lynn Nottage on Rwanda, black women playwrights have addressed key issues in modern culture and politics. We will analyze and perform work written by black women in the U.S., Britain and the Caribbean in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include: sexuality, surrealism, colonialism, freedom, violence, colorism, love, history, community and more. Playwrights include: Angelina Grimke, Lorriane Hansberry, Winsome Pinnock, Adrienne Kennedy, Suzan- Lori Parks, Ntzoke Shange, Pearl Cleage, Sarah Jones, Anna DeVeare Smith, Alice Childress, Lydia Diamond and Zora Neale Hurston.)
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
DANCE 160:
Performance and History: Rethinking the Ballerina (FEMGEN 160, TAPS 160, TAPS 260)
The ballerina occupies a unique place in popular imagination as an object of over-determined femininity as well as an emblem of extreme physical accomplishment for the female dancer. This seminar is designed as an investigation into histories of the ballerina as an iconographic symbol and cultural reference point for challenges to political and gender ideals. Through readings, videos, discussions and viewings of live performances this class investigates pivotal works, artists and eras in the global histories of ballet from its origins as a symbol of patronage and power in the 15th century through to its radical experiments as a site of cultural obedience and disobedience in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
DANCE 160M:
Introduction to Representations of the Middle East in Dance, Performance, & Popular Culture (CSRE 160M, FEMGEN 160M, TAPS 160M)
This course will introduce students to the ways in which the Middle East has been represented and performed by/in the 'West' through dance, performance, and popular culture in both historical and contemporary contexts. A brief look through today's media sources exposes a wide range of racialized and gendered representations of the Middle East that shape the way the world imagines the Middle East to be. As postcolonial theorist Edward Said explains, the framework we call Orientalism establishes the ontological character of the Orient and the Oriental as inherently `Other'. Starting with 19th century colonialism and continuing into the post-9/11 era, this course will trace the Western production, circulation, and consumption of representations of the Middle East as 'Other' in relation to global geopolitics. We will further examine dance forms produced in mid-twentieth century Iran and Egypt, with particular attention to nation-state building and constructions of gender. Finally, we will examine artistic productions and practices from the Middle East and Middle Eastern diasporic communities that respond to colonialism, war, displacement, secularism, and Euro-American Empire. Using dance studies, postcolonial feminist, and critical race theoretical frameworks, we will consider the gender, racial, political, and cultural implications of selected performance works and practices in order to analyze how bodies produce meaning in dance, performance art, theater, film, photography, and new media. Students will engage in multiple modes of learning; the course will include lectures, engaged group discussions, viewing of live and recorded performance, embodied participation in dance practice, student oral presentations, and a variety of writing exercises. Course assignments will culminate in a final research project related to class themes and methods.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
DANCE 161D:
Introduction to Dance Studies: Dancing Across Stages, Clubs, Screens, and Borders (CSRE 61, FEMGEN 161D, TAPS 161D)
This introduction to dance studies course explores dance practice and performance as means for producing cultural meaning. Through theoretical and historical texts and viewing live and recorded dance, we will develop tools for analyzing dance and understanding its place in social, cultural, and political structures. This uses dance and choreography as a lens to more deeply understand a wide range of identity and cultural formations, such as gender, race, sexuality, (dis)ability, (trans)nationality, and empire. We will analyze dancing bodies that move across stages, dance clubs, film screens, and border zones. We will examine dance from diverse locales and time periods including ballet, modern and contemporary dance, contact improvisation, folkloric dance, burlesque, street dance, queer club dance, drag performance, music videos, TV dance competitions, and intermedia/new media performance. In addition to providing theoretical and methodological grounding in dance studies, this course develops performance analysis skills and hones the ability to write critically and skillfully about dance. No previous experience in dance is necessary to successfully complete the course.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
DANCE 162L:
Latin/x America in Motion: An Introduction to Dance Studies (CHILATST 162, CSRE 162D, TAPS 162L, TAPS 262L)
This course introduces students to the field of Dance Studies by examining the histories of Latin American and Caribbean dances and their relationship to developing notions of race and nation in the Americas. We will study the historical emergence and transformation of ¿indigeneity,¿ ¿blackness,¿ ¿whiteness,¿ and ¿Latin/@/x¿ and consider how dance practices interacted with these identifications. No prior experience with Dance or Latin America and the Caribbean necessary.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
DLCL 11:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, The Ancient World (CLASSICS 37, HUMCORE 11)
This course will journey through ancient literature from Homer to St. Augustine; it will introduce participants to some of its fascinating features and big ideas; and it will reflect on questions such as: What is a good life, a good society? Who is in and who is out and why? What is the meaning of honor, and should it be embraced or feared? Where does human subjectivity fit into a world of matter, cause and effect? When is rebellion justified? What happens when a way of life or thought is upended? Do we have any duties to the past? N.B. This is the first of three courses in the European track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study European history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future. Students who take HUMCORE 11 and HUMCORE 12Q will have preferential admission to HUMCORE 13Q (a WR2 seminar).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
DLCL 12:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Middle Ages and Renaissance (ENGLISH 112A, HUMCORE 12)
This three-quarter sequence asks big questions of major texts in the European and American tradition. What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? The second quarter focuses on the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, Europe's re-acquaintance with classical antiquity and its first contacts with the New World. Authors include Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Cervantes, and Milton.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
DLCL 12Q:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Middle Ages and Renaissance (FRENCH 12Q, HUMCORE 12Q, ILAC 12Q)
This three-quarter sequence asks big questions of major texts in the European and American tradition. What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? The second quarter focuses on the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, Europe's re-acquaintance with classical antiquity and its first contacts with the New World. Authors include Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Cervantes, and Milton. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the European track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study European history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future. Students who take HUMCORE 11 and HUMCORE 12Q will have preferential admission to HUMCORE 13Q (a WR2 seminar).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
DLCL 31Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East I -- Ancient (COMPLIT 31Q, HUMCORE 31Q)
This course tells the story of the cradle of civilization. We will start from the earliest human stories, and follow the path from Gligamesh to the Quran via Babylon, the Hebrew Bible, and ancient philosophy. We will read letters, myths, and religious texts in order to pose questions about how how different we are we now in Silicon Valley. What are our traditions? Our faiths? Our foundational stories, or myths? Should we connect ourselves in deep ways to the most ancient past of civilization, or seek to distance ourselves from those origins? N.B. This is the first of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
DLCL 32Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East II -- Classic (COMPLIT 32Q, HISTORY 85Q, HUMCORE 32Q)
How should we live? This course explores two ethical pathways: mysticism and rationality. They seem to be opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow both at once. We will read works by successful judges, bureaucrats, academics, and lovers written between 700 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about professional success and politics. What would we do differently today? We certainly organize knowledge differently, but do we think about ethics the same way? N.B. This is the second of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
DLCL 33Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East III -- Future (COMPLIT 33Q, HUMCORE 33Q)
How do we face the future? What resources do we have? Which power structures hold us back and which empower us? What are our identities here at college on the far Western edge of the Western world? In 1850s Lebabnon, Abu Faris Shidyaq faced all these same questions except for the last of course though he did face a version of even that question, one proper to a mid-19th c. Christian magazine editor. In HumCore Middle East III - Future, we engage with global claims about identity culture and politics. Ganzeer's graphic novel speaks to California as much as to Egypt; Ataturk's speeches are about power and identity just like Donald Trump's. Whether in Turkish novels or Arabic poetry, the people we engage in this course are looking to their pasts and futures, just like us. N.B. This is the third of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
DLCL 100:
CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People (COMPLIT 100, FRENCH 175, GERMAN 175, HISTORY 206E, ILAC 175, ITALIAN 175, URBANST 153)
This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
DLCL 111Q:
Texts and Contexts: Spanish/English Literary Translation Workshop (ILAC 111Q)
This course introduces students to the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to translate literary texts from Spanish to English and English to Spanish. Students will workshop and revise a translation project throughout the quarter. Topics may include comparative syntaxes, morphologies, and semantic systems; register and tone; audience; the role of translation in the development of languages and cultures; and the ideological and socio-cultural forces that shape translations.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
DLCL 113Q:
Borges and Translation (ILAC 113Q)
Borges's creative process and practice as seen through the lens of translation. How do Borges's texts articulate the relationships between reading, writing, and translation? Topics include authorship, fidelity, irreverence, and innovation. Readings will draw on Borges's short stories, translations, and essays. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: 100-level course in Spanish or permission of instructor.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
DLCL 121:
Performing the Middle Ages
Through an analysis of medieval courtly love, religious, satirical, and Crusade lyrics, we will study the rise of a new subjectivity; the female voice; the roles of poet, audience, and patron; oral and manuscript transmission; and political propaganda. Special attention will be given to performance as a reimagining of self and social identity. Authors include Bertran de Born, Marie de France, Hildegard von Bingen, Walther von der Vogelweide, Dante, and Chaucer. Students will have the opportunity to produce a creative project that brings medieval ideas about performance into dialogue with modern conceptions. Taught in English, all texts in translation. NOTE: for AY 2018-19 FRENCH 166 Food, Text, Music: A Multidisciplinary Lab on the Art of Feasting counts for DLCL 121.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
DLCL 124B:
European and North African Visions of the American West (AMSTUD 124B, COMPLIT 124B)
This course is an interdisciplinary investigation of the rewriting of the American West in the Mediterranean context through the transnational lenses of filmmakers and artists of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds, through primarily cinema, but also graphic novels, novels, and murals. How do these films and novels adopt and adapt the Western genre? How do these artistic endeavors tell us about the enduring aura and stereotypes of the American West mythology? Films: Jacques Audiard, The Sisters Brothers, Sergio Leone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, David Oelhoffen, Far From Men, Karl May, Winnetou, Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist, Agnès Varda, Mur murs. Special guest: photographer/street artist JR. Readings: Mark Twain, Joan Didion, Romain Gary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
DLCL 141:
Poems, Poetry, Worlds (COMPLIT 121)
What is poetry? How does it speak in many voices to questions of philosophy, history, society, and personal experience? Why does it matter? The reading and interpretation of poetry in crosscultural comparison as experience, invention, form, sound, knowledge, and part of the world. The readings address poetry of several cultures (Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Occitania, Peru) in comparative relation to that of the English-speaking world, and in light of classic and recent theories of poetry.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
DLCL 143:
The Novel and the World (COMPLIT 123)
<p><b>Before the Digital Era: the European Design of the Novel.</b> The course will trace the development of the modern literary genre par excellence through some of its great milestones from the 17th century to the present. Works by Austen, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Queiròs, Mann, Roth, Woolf, Lampedusa and Rodoreda.<em>Lazarillo de Tormes</em>, Jane Austen: <em>Pride and Prejudice</em>, Flaubert: <em>Madame Bovary</em>, Dostoevsky: <em>Crime and Punishment</em>, Eça de Queirós: <em>The City and the Mountains</em>, Thomas Mann: <em>Death in Venice</em>, Joseph Roth: <em>Radietskymarsh</em>, Virginia Woolf: <em>Mrs. Dalloway</em>, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, <em>The Leopard</em>, Mercé Rodoreda: <em>The Time of the Doves.</em></p>
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
DLCL 293:
Literary Translation (ENGLISH 293)
An overview of translation theories and practices over time. The aesthetic, ethical, and political questions raised by the act and art of translation and how these pertain to the translator's tasks. Discussion of particular translation challenges and the decision processes taken to address these issues. Coursework includes assigned theoretical readings, comparative translations, and the undertaking of an individual translation project.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
EDUC 116N:
Howard Zinn and the Quest for Historical Truth (HISTORY 116N)
With more than two million copies in print, Howard Zinn¿s A People's History is a cultural icon. We will use Zinn¿s book to probe how we determine what was true in the past. A People's History will be our point of departure, but our journey will visit a variety of historical trouble spots: debates about whether the US was founded as a Christian nation, Holocaust denial, and the "Birther" controversy of President Obama.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
EMED 105:
Film and Television Emergencies: Grasp Emergency Care through Pop Culture (EMED 205)
Although popular shows such as Grey's Anatomy successfully enthrall an audience, they often exchange accuracy for entertainment value. This course aims to "set the record straight" and deconstruct these medical dramas into the technical and non-technical skills involved in handling medical emergencies. Working in small groups and guided by emergency medicine faculty, students will actively curate content for discussions about the appropriate usage of these skills. Topics range from CPR and stroke management to decisionmaking and the social influence of medial dramas.
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
EMED 205:
Film and Television Emergencies: Grasp Emergency Care through Pop Culture (EMED 105)
Although popular shows such as Grey's Anatomy successfully enthrall an audience, they often exchange accuracy for entertainment value. This course aims to "set the record straight" and deconstruct these medical dramas into the technical and non-technical skills involved in handling medical emergencies. Working in small groups and guided by emergency medicine faculty, students will actively curate content for discussions about the appropriate usage of these skills. Topics range from CPR and stroke management to decisionmaking and the social influence of medial dramas.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
ENGLISH 9CA:
American Road Trip
From Whitman to Kerouac, Alec Soth to Georgia O¿Keeffe, the lure of travel has inspired many American artists to pack up their bags and hit the open road. In this Creative Expressions course we will be exploring the art and literature of the great American road trip, including prose, poetry, films, and photography. We will be reading and writing in a variety of genres, workshopping our own stories, and considering the ways in which our personal journeys have come to inform and define our lives. The course includes a number of campus-wide field trips, and an end-of-quarter road trip down the California coast.nNOTE: Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 9CP:
Poetry Off the Page
With recent blockbuster films like Patterson and major prizes being awarded to artists like Bob Dylan and Kendrick Lamar, the borders of what constitutes traditional literature are shifting. In this Creative Writing course we will be looking at literature `off the page,¿ in songwriting, spoken word, multi-media, and visual art. We will be workshopping our own creative projects and exploring the boundaries of contemporary literature. Artists we¿ll be looking at include Iron and Wine, Lil Wayne, Allen Ginsberg, Beyonce, David Lynch, Patti Smith, Mark Strand, Anne Carson, Danez Smith, Bon Iver, and Lou Reed.nNOTE: Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 10C:
Introduction to English I: Tradition and Individuality, Medieval to Early Modern
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to English literature from its beginning in the medieval period to the early seventeenth century. We will study individual literary voices and styles in the context of a growing national tradition. We will discuss major authors (such as Chaucer, More, Wyatt, Surrey, Sidney, Spenser, Jonson, Donne) and analyze representative literary works in a variety of genres, from the Old English elegy and Middle English lyrics to the Elizabethan sonnet, Renaissance comedy, and the allegorical epic. While the course equips students with specific analytical and interpretative tools necessary for a historical understanding of literature, it is equally committed to revealing the aesthetic interest that medieval and early modern literature still holds for the modern reader.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 11B:
Introduction to English II: American Literature and Culture to 1855 (AMSTUD 150)
(Formerly English 23/123). A survey of early American writings, including sermons, poetry, captivity and slave narratives, essays, autobiography, and fiction, from the colonial era to the eve of the Civil War.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 11Q:
Art in the Metropolis (ARTSINST 11Q, TAPS 11Q)
This seminar is offered in conjunction with the annual "Arts Immersion" trip to New York that takes place over the spring break and is organized by the Stanford Arts Institute (SAI). Participation in the trip is a requirement for taking part in the seminar (and vice versa). The trip is designed to provide a group of students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultural life of New York City guided by faculty and the SAI programming director. Students will experience a broad range and variety of art forms (visual arts, theater, opera, dance, etc.) and will meet with prominent arts administrators and practitioners, some of whom are Stanford alumni. For further details and updates about the trip, see http://arts.stanford.edu.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 12A:
Introduction to English III: Introduction to African American Literature (AFRICAAM 43, AMSTUD 12A)
(Formerly English 43/143). In his bold study, What Was African American Literature?, Kenneth Warren defines African American literature as a late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century response to the nation's Jim Crow segregated order. But in the aftermath of the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights movement, can critics still speak, coherently, of "African American literature"? And how does this political conception of African American literary production compare with accounts grounded in black language and culture? Taking up Warren's intervention, this course will explore African American literature from its earliest manifestations in the spirituals and slave narratives to texts composed at the height of desegregation and decolonization struggles at mid-century and beyond.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 15Q:
Family Trees: The Intergenerational Novel
The vast majority of novels feature a central protagonist, or a cast of characters whose interactions play out over weeks or months. But some stories overflow our life spans, and cannot be truthfully told without the novelist reaching far back in time. In this Sophomore Seminar, we will consider three novels that seek to tell larger, more ambitious stories that span decades and continents. In the process, we will discuss how novelists build believable worlds, craft memorable characters, keep us engaged as readers, and manage such ambitious projects.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 17Q:
Political Poetry
This workshop is devoted to reading and creating politically engaged poetry. Students will look closely at the intersection between activism, identity, and form, focusing on 20th and 21st century poets responding to their sociohistorical moment.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 20Q:
Making of the Modern Woman: Robots, Aliens, & the Feminine in Science Fiction (FEMGEN 20Q)
What does the genre of science fiction have to say about gender identity? How are women in science fiction represented by themselves and by others? Who are women? What is gender and how is it constructed and performed? What is the relationship between man and machine? Between woman and machine? How is gender represented through narratives of literal alien otherness? What does it mean to be a woman online or in gamer culture? Material will include feminist analysis of gender in popular science fiction literature and visual media from 19th through 21st centuries. Texts range from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Alex Garland¿s Ex Machina.nnThis course will be reading and writing intensive but should also offer opportunities for spirited discussion. We will be engaging with sensitive subjects such as race, class, gender, and sexuality. Assignments include weekly short essays, discussion leadership, individual presentations, and a final research paper.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 41N:
Family Drama: American Plays about Families (AMSTUD 41N, TAPS 40N)
Focus on great dramas about family life (Albee, Kushner, Shephard, Vogel, Kron, Nottage, Parks). Communication in writing and speaking about conflict central to learning in this class.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 43A:
American Indian Mythology, Legend, and Lore (AMSTUD 143M, ENGLISH 143A, NATIVEAM 143A)
(English majors and others taking 5 units, register for 143A.) Readings from American Indian literatures, old and new. Stories, songs, and rituals from the 19th century, including the Navajo Night Chant. Tricksters and trickster stories; war, healing, and hunting songs; Aztec songs from the 16th century. Readings from modern poets and novelists including N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, and Leslie Marmon Silko, and the classic autobiography, "Black Elk Speaks."
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 48N:
The American Songbook and Love Poetry (AMSTUD 48N)
A study of performances (Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra etc) of songs by classic American composers (Porter, Rogers and Hart, Cohen).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 51N:
The Sisters: Poetry & Painting (ARTHIST 160N)
Poetry and painting have often been called the "sister arts". Why? Sometimes a poem or a painting stands out to us, asking that we stay with it, that we remember it, although we cannot exactly say why. Poems have a way of making pictures in the mind, and paintings turn "rhymes" amid the people, places, and things they portray. Each is a concentrated world, inviting an exhilarating closeness of response: why does this line come first? Why does the artist include that detail? Who knows but that as we write and talk about these poems and pictures we will be doing what John Keats said a painter does: that is, arriving at a "trembling delicate and snail-horn perception of Beauty." Each week explore the kinship between a different pair of painter and poet and also focuses on a particular problem or method of interpretation. Some of the artist/poet combinations we will consider: Shakespeare and Caravaggio; Jorie Graham and (the photographer) Henri Cartier-Bresson; Alexander Pope and Thomas Gainsborough; William Wordsworth and Caspar David Friedrich; Christina Rossetti and Mary Cassatt; Walt Whitman and Thomas Eakins; Thomas Hardy and Edward Hopper.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 60N:
Living on the Edge: Language and Landscape of the Western Fringes
What does it feel like to live on the edge, facing an expanse between you and the next place? Who has lived on the Western fringes of Britain and America? Who has named, formed, and been inspired by that land? Whose voices are silenced in the (re)making of a place? Shaping the landscape through the words we use or the features we build is as old as recorded time and, in this seminar, we'll investigate how the land is imagined, defined, settled, and delimited throughout history, with particular reference to western Britain and California. We'll focus on specific elements in the landscape Water, Hill, Tree, Stone, and Border looking at a sequence of locations through historical, archaeological, placename, literary, and artistic analyses. Students will produce place-name studies; the depictions of landscape through creative work (poetry, prose, non-fiction, song, or picture) on three fieldtrips; and close readings of literary descriptions of landscape. Among the authors study will be John Muir, John Steinbeck, Edward Thomas, Linda Noel, Dylan Thomas, and Gwyneth Lewis.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 68N:
Mark Twain and American Culture (AMSTUD 68N)
Preference to freshmen. Mark Twain defined the rhythms of our prose and the contours of our moral map. He recognized our extravagant promise and stunning failures, our comic foibles and tragic flaws. He is viewed as the most American of American authors--and as one of the most universal. How does his work illuminate his society's (and our society's) responses to such issues as race, gender, technology, heredity vs. environment, religion, education, art, imperialism, animal welfare, and what it means to be "American"?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 72N:
Serial Storytelling
"TV's Lost Weekends," a recent headline says, referring to the modern habit of binge-watching television shows. Such news stories debate the right way to watch TV. They also echo longstanding arguments about how to read books. This course juxtaposes contemporary television with classic serial novels in order to explore different ways of experiencing longform narratives. How do we read or watch when we're forced to wait before the next episode---or, conversely, given the opportunity to binge?
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 75N:
American Short Stories (AMSTUD 75N)
How and why did the short story take root and flourish in an American context? Early works of classic American literature read alongside stories by women and minority writers, stretching from the early nineteenth century to the contemporary period.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 76:
After the Apocalypse
What happens after the world, as we know it, has ended? In the course of examining classic and newer speculative fictional narratives detailing the ravages of various post-apocalyptic societies and the challenges those societies pose to the survivors, we explore several related questions: What is an apocalypse? What resources does speculative fiction offer for understanding and responding to oppressive societies? Where does the idea of the apocalypse originate? Is an apocalypse always in the future? Or has it already occurred? For whom might apocalypse constitute an ongoing present? In this course, we use the tools of close reading and historical criticism to build an archive of knowledge about the narrative, visual, and aural features of apocalypse. Students will be guided through the creation of a multimedia portfolio over the course of the quarter, for presentation at the end. No written midterm or final exam.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 79N:
The Renaissance: Culture as Conflict
Focus is on the Renaissance not as a cultural rebirth but as a scene of cultural conflict. Course materials are selected from Renaissance art, history, philosophy, politics, religion, and travel writing; authors include More, Luther, Erasmus, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Montaigne, Shakespeare. Among the conflicts we will explore are: old (world)/new (world), wealth/poverty, individual/collectivity, manuscript/print, religion/secularism, Catholicism/Protestantism, monarchism/republicanism, femininity/masculinity, heterosexuality/homosexuality.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 80N:
Modern "Meanings of Life": Aestheticism, Perfectionism, Ecstasy
This course asks about the "meaning of life" in our time, the 21st century, and over the past 200 years. It proposes that some classic reasons for living, and modes of giving value to life, ethics, religion, family are no longer particularly active; while new, poorly articulated and ill-acknowledged systems of life-evaluation rule our senses of meaning. In particular, the course will discover, try to systematize, and then test a few of these covert modern life philosophies: aestheticism; perfectionism; ecstasy. Representatives of more classic systems of meaning Christian experience, and Aristotelian ethics will offer comparative cases. Students will be challenged to articulate and evaluate their own reasons for living and anticipated meanings of life, and to become skillful interpreters of both art and ideas in texts, learning methods from literature, philosophy, and history. They should also develop richer and more precise understandings of those contested terms, modern and modernity. Readings may include Wordsworth, Thoreau, Flaubert, Aristotle, Thomas à Kempis, Theresa of Avila, Whitman, Dickinson, Sontag, plus contemporary sources.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
ENGLISH 81:
Philosophy and Literature (CLASSICS 42, COMPLIT 181, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181)
What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 82N:
Thinking about Photographs
The course will begin with a short history of photography since the 19th century; followed by both a hands-on exploration of different types of photographs (possibly using the Cantor Collection) and then a more theoretical discussion of some of the acknowledged classics of photographic writing (Susan Sontag's On Photography, Roland Barthes' Camera lucida, Linfield's The Cruel Radiance.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 90:
Fiction Writing
The elements of fiction writing: narration, description, and dialogue. Students write complete stories and participate in story workshops. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: PWR 1 (waived in summer quarter).nNOTE: First priority to undergrads. Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
Instructors: ;
Antopol, M. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Drangle, C. (PI);
Labowskie, M. (PI);
Porter, E. (PI);
Pufahl, S. (PI);
Schloesser Tarano, N. (PI);
Smith, A. (PI);
Tanaka, S. (PI);
Tomar, R. (PI);
Trahan, J. (PI)
ENGLISH 90Q:
Sports Writing
Study and practice of the unique narratives, tropes, images and arguments that creative writers develop when they write about popular sport. From regional fandom to individualist adventuring, boxing and baseball to mascot dancing and table tennis, exceptional creative writers mine from a diversity of leisure activity a rich vein of ¿sports writing¿ in the creative nonfiction genre. In doing so, they demonstrate the creative and formal adaptability required to write with excellence about any subject matter, and under the circumstances of any subjectivity. Discussion of the ways in which writers have framed, and even critiqued, our interest in athletic events, spectatorship, and athletic beauty. Writers include Joyce Carol Oates, Roland Barthes, David James Duncan, Arnold Rampersad, John Updike, Maxine Kumin, Susan Sterling, Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, Dervla Murphy, Haruki Murakami, Don DeLillo, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Annie Dillard, John McPhee, and Laura Hillenbrand. Close readings of essays on form and sport, as well as book excerpts. Students will engage in class discussions and write short weekly papers, leading to a more comprehensive project at the end of the quarter.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 91:
Creative Nonfiction
Historical and contemporary as a broad genre including travel and nature writing, memoir, biography, journalism, and the personal essay. Students use creative means to express factual content. May be repeated for credit. First priority to undergrads. Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
Instructors: ;
Antopol, M. (PI);
Brewer, W. (PI);
Carlson-Wee, K. (PI);
Clark, H. (PI);
Drangle, C. (PI);
Evans, J. (PI);
Frisch, S. (PI);
Porter, E. (PI);
Pufahl, S. (PI);
Ross, M. (PI);
Schloesser Tarano, N. (PI);
Sharif, S. (PI);
Trahan, J. (PI)
ENGLISH 92:
Reading and Writing Poetry
Prerequisite: PWR 1. Issues of poetic craft. How elements of form, music, structure, and content work together to create meaning and experience in a poem. May be repeated for credit.nNOTE: First priority to undergrads. Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
ENGLISH 93Q:
The American Road Trip
From Whitman to Kerouac, Alec Soth to Georgia O'Keeffe, the lure of travel has inspired many American artists to pack up their bags and hit the open road. In this course we will be exploring the art and literature of the great American road trip. We will be reading and writing in a variety of genres, workshopping our own personal projects, and considering a wide breadth of narrative approaches. Assignments will range from reading Cormac McCarthy's novel, 'The Road,' to listening to Bob Dylan's album, 'Highway 61 Revisited.' We will be looking at films like 'Badlands' and 'Thelma and Louise,' acquainting ourselves with contemporary photographers, going on a number of campus-wide field trips, and finishing the quarter with an actual road trip down the California coast. Anyone with a sense of adventure is welcome!
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 94:
Creative Writing Across Genres
For minors in creative writing. The forms and conventions of the contemporary short story and poem. How form, technique, and content combine to make stories and poems organic. Prerequisite: 90, 91, or 92.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 94Q:
The Future is Feminine (FEMGEN 94Q)
Gender is one of the great social issues of our time. What does it mean to be female or feminine? How has femininity been defined, performed, punished, or celebrated? Writers are some of our most serious and eloquent investigators of these questions, and in this class we'll read many of our greatest writers on the subject of femininity, as embodied by both men and women, children and adults, protagonists and antagonists. From Virginia Woolf to Ernest Hemingway, from Beloved to Gone Girl (and even "RuPaul's Drag Race"), we'll ask how the feminine is rendered and contested. We'll do so in order to develop a history and a vocabulary of femininity so that we may, in this important time, write our own way in to the conversation. This is first and foremost a creative writing class, and our goals will be to consider in our own work the importance of the feminine across the entire spectrum of gender, sex, and identity. We will also study how we write about femininity, using other writers as models and inspiration. As we engage with these other writers, we will think broadly and bravely, and explore the expressive opportunities inherent in writing. We will explore our own creative practices through readings, prompted exercises, improv, games, collaboration, workshop, and revision, all with an eye toward writing the feminine future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 104:
The Art of the Book: Renaissance to Modernism
W.B. Yeats once sought inspiration in "the foul rag and bone shop of the heart," a place where litter and scraps were recycled into the paper that held his poems. In this course, we will reconsider the literary text as a physical object, tracing how writers integrate its physical characteristics into their poetry and prose during eras of increasing mechanization. How do these texts ask us to ¿read¿ the printed page? When and why do we ignore it? How does literature engage our senses and call attention to itself? This course will include meetings in Stanford Special collections to examine original editions of our texts. Readings include works by William Shakespeare, Daniel Defoe, Laurence Sterne, William Blake, William Morris, W.B. Yeats, and Gertrude Stein.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 108:
Disability Literature (HUMBIO 177)
This course explores literary and filmic narratives about disability in the Global South. Authors including Edwidge Danticat, Bapsi Sidhwa, and Ricardo Padilla highlight the unique aesthetic potential of what Michael Davidson calls the defamiliar body and Ato Quayson describes as aesthetic nervousness. While engaging universal issues of disability stigma, they also emphasize the specific geopolitics of disability how people in the Global South face greater rates of impairment based on unequal exposure to embodied risk. The course particularly welcomes students with interests in fields of medicine, policy, or public health.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 110:
The Indian Novel
When we imagine the exemplary global or postcolonial novel, we're likely to think of novels from India. But the current dominance of Indian Anglophone fiction was hardly the tryst with destiny it seems in retrospect. This course offers a perspective on the emergence of the Anglophone novel in India through a conversation with its linguistic and generic others works in the competing modes of short stories, poetry, and film. The course may include writings by Mulk Raj Anand, G.V. Desani, Anita Desai, and Arundhati Roy, as well as selections from the volume A History of the Indian Novel in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 112A:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Middle Ages and Renaissance (DLCL 12, HUMCORE 12)
This three-quarter sequence asks big questions of major texts in the European and American tradition. What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? The second quarter focuses on the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, Europe's re-acquaintance with classical antiquity and its first contacts with the New World. Authors include Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Cervantes, and Milton.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 114:
Thinking with Poems
William Carlos Williams wrote that ¿a poem is a small (or large) machine made out of words. This class will consider lyric poems as machines for thinking, taking up the question of poetry's relationship to abstract, propositional thought. We will ask what kinds of thoughts poems as opposed to other genres of written discourse allow us to think, and explore how poems embody thought through careful attention to the mechanics of lyric form. The class will be organized into five units devoted to themes that our poems will address: love, nature, things, society, and death. While discussion of these themes will range broadly with the aim of maximizing their relevance to each participant in the class, our analysis will be tied closely to the individual poems in front of us. We will read a diverse set of poets writing in English stretching from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century, including poems by Thomas Wyatt, William Shakespeare, John Donne, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell, Phillis Wheatley, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Percy Shelley, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, Marianne Moore, Elizabeth Bishop, Gwendolyn Brooks, Claudia Rankine, and Jorie Graham, among others. This class should be of interest to all students and writers of poetry, as well as of special interest to those in the ¿literature and philosophy¿ track within the major.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 115:
Mapping the Grand Tour: Digital Methods for Historical Data (CLASSICS 115, HISTORY 238C, ITALIAN 115)
Classical Italy attracted thousands of travelers throughout the 1700s. Referring to their journey as the "Grand Tour," travelers pursued intellectual passions, promoted careers, and satisfied wanderlust, all while collecting antiquities to fill museums and estates back home. What can digital approaches tell us about who traveled, where and why? We will read travel accounts; experiment with parsing; and visualize historical data. Final projects to form credited contributions to the Grand Tour Project, a cutting-edge digital platform. No prior experience necessary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ENGLISH 115C:
Hamlet and the Critics (ENGLISH 215C, TAPS 151C, TAPS 251C)
Focus is on Shakespeare's Hamlet as a site of rich critical controversy from the eighteenth century to the present. Aim is to read, discuss, and evaluate different approaches to the play, from biographical, theatrical, and psychological to formalist, materialist, feminist, new historicist, and, most recently, quantitative. The ambition is to see whether there can be great literature without (a) great (deal of) criticism. The challenge is to understand the theory of literature through the study of its criticism.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 116:
Global English
Anglophone fiction confronts readers with a paradox: It uses English to describe situations where little English is spoken, and where other languages make their presence known in the form of borrowed words, translated phrases, and unfamiliar syntax. Combining global superstars like Salman Rushdie with lesser-known authors like Phaswane Mpe and Mayra Santos-Febres, the class looks at the globalization of English in three very different contexts: India, South Africa, and the Dominican Republic.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 120C:
California: A Sense of Place
Description: "A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest," writes Joan Didion, "remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his image." From the Gold Rush to Hollywood to Silicon Valley, Yosemite to the Salton Sea, encounter a series of writers and artists whose work is set in California, or participates in its imagining, and throughout consider how culture and a sense of place are closely related. How does a novel, photograph, or film conjure community or landscape? When we think of California, whose stories are included, and whose are left out? Possible texts: works by Mary Austin, Mike Davis, Rebecca Solnit, John Steinbeck, and Nathanael West; the films Sunset Boulevard,Clueless,and There Will Be Blood; and the art of Carlton Watkins, Dorothea Lange, Richard Misrach, Martín Ramírez, Wayne Thiebaud, and Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. Visit New Almaden, a quicksilver mine in the 19thcentury, later Superfund Site, now a museum and popular trail.For the final paper, students research a place in California of their choice, or a Mission mural walk, or the Oakland Museum of California.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 121C:
Superheroes, Supercops: American Police Power
Description: America has an obsession with superheroes and a problem with police--the last decade has been dominated by both blockbuster superhero films and negotiations over police power. This course will take an intersectional, interdisciplinary, and critical look at models of police power as they appear in superhero/supercop texts, including film, thinkpieces, novels for young readers, and comics, as well as a look at the historic foundations of American policing and contemporary police theory. What do superheroes teach us about police? And what do police teach us about superheroes? How can we read cultural production around this topic in a useful way? What constitutes propaganda, and what constitutes useful debate?
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ENGLISH 122C:
Medieval Fantasy Literature
Description: Trolls, ogres, elves, dwarves, dragons, draugar, wizards, witches, and fairies¿these creatures and characters, so familiar to modern readers, moviegoers, and gamers, have an ancient pedigree stretching back into the darkness of prehistoric Europe, and have enthralled human imagination for just as long. This course visits their first emergence into written literary record during the medieval period, from the earliest Dark Age mythological folklore of Britain and Scandinavia to the courtly and whimsical romance of the high and late middle ages. What significance and meaning did medieval writers from different times and places see in magic and monsters; what superstitions and beliefs converged in their efforts to represent things ¿from the other side,¿ and what compelled them to do so? We will address such questions by reading the literature against the social, cultural, and religious contexts that shaped medieval life and artistic production; our goal is to discover how these authors used the fantastic to moralize and theologize, to confront and explain alterity, and to thrill their readers. Finally we will turn to the modern era with J. R. R. Tolkien¿s The Fellowship of the Ring and Kazuo Ishiguro¿s The Buried Giant, reflecting on how professional and popular literary medievalism has cultivated the tropes of medieval fantasy to produce works which mediate between an imagined history, sublime fabrication, and contemporary concerns.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 124:
The American West (AMSTUD 124A, ARTHIST 152, HISTORY 151, POLISCI 124A)
The American West is characterized by frontier mythology, vast distances, marked aridity, and unique political and economic characteristics. This course integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of Western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges. Students examine themes fundamental to understanding the region: time, space, water, peoples, and boom and bust cycles.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ENGLISH 126B:
The Nineteenth Century Novel
A set of major works of art produced at the peak of the novel's centrality as a cultural form: Austen's Emma, Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Eliot's Middlemarch, Dickens's Great Expectations, Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. The paradoxes of work, consciousness and the organization of narrative experience, habit and attention. Urban experience, shifting forms of individualism, ways of knowing other persons. Binary and concentric structures, happiness and moral action, arrays of characters.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 130:
Sex and the Novel (FEMGEN 130S)
How do novels represent sexual life? This course reads texts from the eighteenth century to the present day, and considers how novelists represent the discombobulating effects of desire in fictional prose. Authors may include: S. Richardson, N. Hawthorne, J. Austen, E. Brontë, G. Gissing, H. James, D.H. Lawrence, J. Joyce, V. Nabokov, J. Baldwin, A. Hollinghurst and Z. Smith.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 131B:
American Travel Films, 1925-2013
For more than a century, cars and movies have occupied a romantic place in the American imagination, as vehicles that can take us someplace new and engines for our fantasies of mobility, freedom and personal expression. Perhaps this is one reason why the road movie is one of the most enduring subgenres of twentieth-century film. In this class, we'll watch and discuss ten celebrated American travel films, one for each decade starting from Buster Keaton's silent Go West (1925) and arriving at Alexander Payne's wry anti-road film Nebraska (2013). In between we'll travel by car, bus, motorcycle and even on foot across America and beyond, searching for answers to the motivating questions for this course: what is the attraction of the open road, and how is the romance of its call embraced and challenged by the multiple genres of these films, the concerns of the decades in which they were produced, and the limits they impose on the idea of unrestricted travel, individual growth and independence. A secondary goal of this class is to familiarize students with the language and concepts of film art and criticism. To that end, we'll pair our films with readings from Bordwell, Thompson and Smith's influential textbook Film Art: an Introduction. Students will therefore not only be immersed in the themes specific to this course, but will also learn how to analyze and speak about film as a medium.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 131C:
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence in Fiction
From self-driving cars to bots that alter democratic elections, artificial intelligence is growing increasingly powerful and prevalent in our everyday lives. Fiction has long been speculating about the techno-utopia¿and catastrophe¿that A.I. could usher in. Indeed, fiction itself presents us with a kind of A.I. in the many characters that speak and think in its pages. So what constitutes an ¿intelligence¿ within literature or technology? In either field, is it ever possible to overcome the problem of other minds? Is there an ultimate boundary that demarcates bodies from machines? This course will begin with Mary Shelley¿s Frankenstein (1818) and Edgar Allan Poe¿s ¿Maelzel¿s Chess Player¿ (1836), then proceed through works such as Samuel Butler¿s Erewhon (1872), Isaac Asimov¿s I, Robot (1950), Stanley Kubrick¿s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and Stanford lecturer Scott Hutchins¿s A Working Theory of Love (2012), including a possible visit from Hutchins. Throughout, we will be asking ourselves what makes someone¿or something¿a person in our world today.
Last offered: Summer 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 132C:
Cosmopolitan Crime: Global Detective Fiction
Detective fiction is one of the most popular genres in the world. It is also, interestingly, one of the most international genres as well. In this course, we¿ll look at a selection of globally oriented detective stories, from the Sherlock Holmes to The Tunnel, and explore the ways in which detective fiction participates in the global imagination. How do these detective stories represent the tension between community and cultural difference? How do conceptions of cultural or racial ¿otherness¿ influence views of suspicion, guilt or innocence? How far does detective fiction fulfill a cosmopolitan ideal of transnational justice, and in what ways does it fall short? As we analyze the conventions of the detective genre and consider how it examines issues faced by our increasingly globalized community¿including immigration, imperialism, identity politics, and terrorism¿we¿ll ask larger questions about the nature of community, morality, law, and justice across national and cultural boundaries.
Last offered: Summer 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 133C:
King Arthur's Court: Medieval and Modern
Thomas Malory's Arthurian epic Le Morte D'Arthur (The Death of Arthur) is often thought of as the last medieval English text. As a prose narrative describing the gradual annihilation of King Arthur's legendary court at Camelot and the disintegration of the medieval courtly values that once held it together, the book seems to be a fitting swan song for what we think of as the English middle ages. In this course students will read Malory's Middle English legend of King Arthur in its historical and material context, developing an appreciation for its literary style and cultivating an awareness of the medieval traditions and technologies that shaped the author's work. We will then read T. H. White's The Once and Future King, a 20th century Arthurian novel based on Le Morte D'Arthur, and students will compare White's interpretation and adaptation to their own encounter with Malory's text. This course examines how authors and readers confront and imagine the medieval, and how the quest to capture the elusive idea of the dark ages illuminates the preoccupations of the present.
Last offered: Summer 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 134C:
The Western: Imagining the West in Fiction and Film (AMSTUD 134C)
The Wild West: a mythical place seared deep into the American imagination. Its familiar tropes lone riders on horseback, desert sunsets, saloon fights, train robberies echo through countless Western stories, novels, films, radio programs, and television series. Both formulaic and flexible, the Western has endured as a popular genre in American culture for more than a century, embodying and responding to many of the nation's broader anxieties surrounding its colonial history, its notions of masculinity and gender roles, its fascination with guns and violence, and its ideals of self-reliance and individualism. In this class we'll examine the Western genre through a selection of its central works in fiction and film, from the first dime novel Western, Ann S. Stephens Malaeska (1860), to Cormac McCarthy¿s acclaimed Blood Meridian (1985); and from the first silent film Western, Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903), to the mid-century Hollywood films of John Ford, to Maggie Greenwald¿s feminist Western, The Ballad of Little Jo (1993). Along the way we'll examine the Western as both a literary form and a cultural phenomenon, probing the history of its enduring appeal as a genre. How do these novels and films construct, adapt, and subvert the form and expectations of the Western, and how do they both perpetuate and challenge the broader cultural problems of their, and our, time? Finally, as Californians and inheritors of the nation's westward expansion, what does the Western tell us about national myths of the West, and the place in which we live?
Last offered: Summer 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 135C:
Reading and Writing the Personal Essay
This course examines the literary and cultural significance of the personal essay. We will begin with some influential theories of the essay, and conclude by considering the changing media from periodicals to blogs in which it appears. In between, we will explore some of the many reasons writers have had for writing themselves into their essays, such as explaining their personal tastes, demanding action from their readers, bearing witness to trauma, and making the personal political. Course readings will be drawn from across the rich history of the personal essay, including works by Charles Lamb, Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, James Baldwin, Susan Sontag, Joan Didion, Alice Walker, David Foster Wallace, Elif Batuman, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. As we explore the literary history, structure, and style of the personal essay, we will also reflect on what this genre reveals about the modern person. How are individuals shaped by social, cultural, and political forces? How are the ways we construct and express ourselves affected by changes in the media? And what might the personal essay reveal about the shifting boundaries between self and other, public and private, fact and fiction? Throughout the course, students will complete a series of short critical assignments, culminating in a final paper in which they will apply what they have learned to produce personal essays of their own.
Last offered: Summer 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 138:
Facts and Fictions: British Writing in the 1930s
In American politics where `alternative facts has entered the lexicon in a `post-truth attempt at media control, and in Britain where Brexit has reactivated a `little England model of insular nationalism, the concerns of British writers in the 1930s that `low dishonest decade as the poet W.H. Auden famously described it on nationalism, militarism, and the politics of language seem especially prescient now. Alert to nativism in a post-Depression era, and the losses of progressive ideals (unevenly) cultured during the 1920s, these writers explored the relationship and stakes between words and politics as they faced an increasingly fascistic continent. Writers include: George Orwell, Storm Jameson, Winifred Holtby, Vera Brittain, Naomi Michinson, Evelyn Waugh, Virginia Woolf, Aldous Huxley, W.H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, and C.L.R. James.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 139B:
American Women Writers, 1850-1920 (AMSTUD 139B, FEMGEN 139B)
This course traces the ways in which female writers negotiated a series of literary, social, and intellectual movements, from abolitionism and sentimentalism in the nineteenth century to Progressivism and avant-garde modernism in the twentieth. Authors include Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Rebecca Harding Davis, Emily Dickinson, Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein, Willa Cather, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 143A:
American Indian Mythology, Legend, and Lore (AMSTUD 143M, ENGLISH 43A, NATIVEAM 143A)
(English majors and others taking 5 units, register for 143A.) Readings from American Indian literatures, old and new. Stories, songs, and rituals from the 19th century, including the Navajo Night Chant. Tricksters and trickster stories; war, healing, and hunting songs; Aztec songs from the 16th century. Readings from modern poets and novelists including N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, and Leslie Marmon Silko, and the classic autobiography, "Black Elk Speaks."
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 144:
Major Modernists: Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Katherine Mansfield, T. S. Eliot
What made modernism `new? Is the movement `evergreen? We examine representational change, narrative innovation, and political aesthetics in the poetry, short fiction, and novels of four iconic pioneers: Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Katherine Mansfield, and T.S. Eliot.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 145D:
Jewish American Literature (AMSTUD 145D, JEWISHST 155D, REES 145D)
From its inception, Jewish-American literature has taken as its subject as well as its context the idea of Jewishness itself. Jewish culture is a diasporic one, and for this reason the concept of Jewishness differs from country to country and across time. What stays remarkably similar, though, is Jewish self-perception and relatedly Jewish literary style. This is as true for the first-generation immigrant writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Anzia Yezierska who came to the United States from abroad as it is for their second-generation children born in the United States, and the children of those children. In this course, we will consider the difficulties of displacement for the emigrant generation and their efforts to sustain their cultural integrity in the multicultural American environment. We'll also examine the often comic revolt of their American-born children and grandchildren against their (grand-)parents nostalgia and failure to assimilate. Only by considering these transnational roots can one understand the particularity of the Jewish-American novel in relation to mainstream and minority American literatures. In investigating the link between American Jewish writers and their literary progenitors, we will draw largely but not exclusively from Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 146A:
Steinbeck (AMSTUD 146A)
Introduction to the work of an American writer, beloved by general readers, often reviled by critics, whose career spanned from the Great Depression through World War II to the social upheavals of the 1960s. Focus on the social and political contexts of Steinbeck's major works; his fascination with California and Mexico; his interdisciplinary interest in marine biology and in philosophy; his diverse experiments with literary form, including drama and film.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 146S:
Secret Lives of the Short Story
An exploration of the Short Story's evolution and variety of voices from its emergence in the 19th century to the present day. Weekly themes include the Detective Story, Immigration, Failure, Science Fiction, and Adolescence. We'll read a range of mostly American writers Edgar Allan Poe, James Baldwin, Raymond Carver, Grace Paley, Alice Sola Kim with an eye to uncovering the historical, cultural, and stylistic secrets of the Short Story, from both a literary criticism and a creative writing viewpoint.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 148:
Family Drama: American Plays about Families (TAPS 248)
Focus on great dramas about family life (Albee, Kushner, Shephard, Vogel, Kron, Nottage, Parks). Communication in writing and speaking about conflict central to learning in this class.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 150D:
Women Poets (FEMGEN 150D)
The development of women's poetry from the 17th to the 20th century. How these poets challenge and enhance the canon, amending and expanding ideas of tone, voice and craft, while revising societal expectations of the poet's identity. Poets include Katharine Philips, Letitia Barbauld, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charlotte Mew, Sylvia Plath, and Adrienne Rich.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 151F:
Angelheaded Hipsters: Beat Writers of San Francisco and New York (AMSTUD 151F)
Reading of central writers of the Beat movement (Ginsberg, Kerouac, di Prima, Snyder, Whalen) as well as some related writers (Creeley, Gunn, Levertov). Issues explored include NY and SF, Buddhism and leftist politics, poetry and jazz. Some exposure to reading poems to jazz accompaniment. Examination of some of the writers and performers growing out of the Beats: Bob Dylan, rock music, especially from San Francisco, and jazz.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 152G:
Harlem Renaissance
Examination of the explosion of African American artistic expression during 1920s and 30s New York known as the Harlem Renaissance. Amiri Baraka once referred to the Renaissance as a kind of "vicious Modernism", as a "BangClash", that impacted and was impacted by political, cultural and aesthetic changes not only in the U.S. but Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. Focus on the literature, graphic arts, and the music of the era in this global context.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 152K:
Mixed-Race Politics and Culture (AFRICAAM 226, AMSTUD 152K, CSRE 152K)
Today, almost one-third of Americans identify with a racial/ethnic minority group, and more than 9 million Americans identify with multiple races. What are the implications of such diversity for American politics and culture? This course approaches issues of race from an interdisciplinary perspective, employing research in the social sciences and humanities to assess how race shapes perceptions of identity as well as political behavior in 21st-century U.S. Issues surrounding the role of multiculturalism, immigration, acculturation, racial representation, and racial prejudice in American society. Topics include the political and social formation of race; racial representation in the media, arts, and popular culture; the rise and decline of the "one-drop rule" and its effect on political and cultural attachments; the politicization of census categories and the rise of the multiracial movement.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 153:
Time, Space, and Place: Humanistic Inquiry in a Digital Age
What are the digital humanities? A definition might be: Digital humanities are those pursuits which use digital tools to explore topics of humanistic inquiry. But that definition is rather general. To have a more nuanced understanding of the digital humanities, students will be exposed to a number of its practices, and practitioners. Active engagement by all participants is expected. Students will read and annotate, map and perform digital textual analysis. Ultimately, students will have a better idea of what the digital humanities are, and will be introduced to different ways they can be practiced, opening up possibilities for further exploration.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 2-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 154F:
Film & Philosophy (COMPLIT 154A, FRENCH 154, ITALIAN 154, PHIL 193C, PHIL 293C)
Issues of authenticity, morality, personal identity, and the value of truth explored through film; philosophical investigation of the filmic medium itself. Screenings to include Blade Runner (Scott), Do The Right Thing (Lee), The Seventh Seal (Bergman), Fight Club (Fincher), La Jetée (Marker), Memento (Nolan), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Kaufman). Taught in English.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 157H:
Creative Writing & Science: The Artful Interpreter (BIOHOPK 157H, BIOHOPK 257H)
What role does creativity play in the life of a scientist? How has science inspired great literature? How do you write accessibly and expressively about things like whales, DNA or cancer? This course begins with a field trip to Hopkins Marine Station, perched at the edge of the Pacific, where Stanford labs buzz with activity alongside barking seals and crashing waves. Here, in this spectacular setting, we learn to pay attention to our encounters with the natural world and translate sensory experience to the page. Students keep field journals to collect observations and cultivate a reflective practice. In-class writing experiments lead to original nonfiction combining personal narrative and scientific curiosity. Students workshop their projects, receiving supportive feedback from the group. You will develop a more patient and observant eye, improve your ability to articulate scientific concepts, and, hopefully, have a bit of fun along the way.nNOTE: First priority to undergrads. Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 158H:
Science Meets Literature on the Monterey Peninsula (BIOHOPK 158H, BIOHOPK 258H)
(Graduate students register for 258H.) This course will consider the remarkable nexus of scientific research and literature that developed on the Monterey Peninsula in the first half of the 20th century and how the two areas of creativity influenced each other. The period of focus begins with the 1932 association of John and Carol Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts, and Joseph Campbell, all of whom were highly influenced by the Carmel poet, Robinson Jeffers ¿ and ends with the novels Cannery Row (1945) and Sweet Thursday (1954). An indisputable high-tide mark, Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely of Travel and Research (1941) will be considered in detail. Weekend field trips will include intertidal exploration, a tour of the Jeffers Tor House in Carmel, and whale watching on Monterey Bay.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 159:
James Baldwin & Twentieth Century Literature (AFRICAAM 159, FEMGEN 159)
Black, gay and gifted, Baldwin was hailed as a "spokesman for the race", although he personally, and controversially, eschewed titles and classifications of all kinds. This course examines his classic novels and essays as well his exciting work across many lesser-examined domains - poetry, music, theatre, sermon, photo-text, children's literature, public media, comedy and artistic collaboration. Placing his work in context with other writers of the 20C (Faulkner, Wright,Morrison) and capitalizing on a resurgence of interest in the writer (NYC just dedicated a year of celebration of Baldwin and there are 2 new journals dedicated to study of Baldwin), the course seeks to capture the power and influence of Baldwin's work during the Civil Rights era as well as his relevance in the "post-race" transnational 21st century, when his prescient questioning of the boundaries of race, sex, love, leadership and country assume new urgency.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 159A:
Literature and Protest (AFRICAAM 159A, CSRE 159I)
How does literary art get involved in politics? What is the border between propaganda and art? This class examines moments when writers seem suddenly not only to represent politically charged topics and themes, but to have a part in bringing about political change. We¿ll look at case studies from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the American Civil Rights struggle, 19th century Russia, and more.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ENGLISH 160:
Poetry and Poetics
Introduction to the reading of poetry, with emphasis on how the sense of poems is shaped through diction, imagery, and technical elements of verse.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 161:
Narrative and Narrative Theory
An introduction to stories and storytelling--that is, to narrative. What is narrative? When is narrative fictional and when non-fictional? How is it done, word by word, sentence by sentence? Must it be in prose? Can it be in pictures? How has storytelling changed over time? Focus on various forms, genres, structures, and characteristics of narrative.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 162W:
Writing Intensive Seminar in English (WISE)
In these highly regarded, small-group seminars, students explore unique topics in English language literature, reading select primary texts alongside exemplary critical works and/or other cultural artifacts, while also honing their research and writing skills through series of assignments that culminate in a substantial original research essay. Classes are capped at 8, allowing for individualized attention and rich feedback. Click Schedule below to see individual course titles (in Notes). For fuller details and descriptions, go to https://english.stanford.edu/writing-intensive-seminars-english-wise. Enrollment is by permission. 2018-2019 course topics include: neo-slave narratives; nineteenth-century novels; Renaissance drama; American conspiracy theories; James Joyce and modernism; Shakespeare adaptations; colonies of the gothic; and the Beats. English majors must take at least one WISE to fulfill WIM. Non-majors are welcome, space permitting.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
ENGLISH 163D:
Shakespeare: The Ethical Challenge (TAPS 163D)
Was the eighteenth century right in proclaiming Shakespeare to be the greatest moral philosopher? What are the ethical challenges Shakespeare's major plays still pose for us? Can we divorce ethical decisions from the contingencies of experience? We will ask a series of normative ethical questions (to do with pleasure, power, old age, self-sacrifice, and truth telling) and attempt to answer them in relation to the dramatic situation of Shakespeare's characters on the one hand and our own cultural situation on the other. The ethical challenge of Shakespearean drama will be set against selected readings in ethical theory.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
ENGLISH 163F:
Shakespeare Now and Then
In this Introduction to Shakespeare on film, we will study approximately five Shakespearean plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and Macbeth, alongside a selection of their movie adaptations. As well as getting to grips with the plays printed texts, we will investigate how the plays meanings and significations can change radically in performance.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ENGLISH 167H:
The Ethical Gangster
(English majors must register for 5 units) A study of recent developments in understanding human moral psychology using mafia movies to explore the differences between Kantian and Utilitarian moral theory. We will study the greatest hits of gangster fiction and film, from Fielding's Jonathan Wild to The Sopranos.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
ENGLISH 185A:
Literature and Medicine
Virginia Woolf once wrote, "The merest schoolgirl when she falls in love has Shakespeare or Keats to speak her mind for her, but let a sufferer try to describe a pain in his head to a doctor and language at once runs dry." Problems of representation are at the heart of the experiences of physical suffering and medical care; how has literature defined and redefined its relationship to these experiences? Topics include medical and literary interpretation, illness and metaphor, and the evolution of the surface-depth model of the self. The course centers on major works of literature that engage the imaginative potential of medicine and the narrative structures of disease, by authors including Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, and Arthur Conan Doyle, read alongside paintings (Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp), film (Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers), medical descriptions of disease, diagnostic tools, and theory (e.g., Sontag's Illness as Metaphor).
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 189D:
Literature and Science
How do novelists and scientists render visible the invisible? How do they think outside the accumulated meanings of their time? And how do they confront the risk of disenchantment that knowledge and explanation pose? This course centers on major literary works including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse. Topics include experimentation in science and in art, the use of fictions in science, how science and art train our perceptual capacities, imagination and responsibility, metaphor and metaphorical thinking, & objectivity and its alternatives.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 190S:
Short Story Salon
Who better to discuss a book with than its author? In this course we will immerse ourselves in eight short story collections and meet with many of the authors of these collections to hear about their experience drafting, revising, and sending their books out into the world. We will read as writers for inspiration and craft and analyze the collections for structure, character development, dialogue, setting, language, and theme. We will pay particular attention to the range, arrangement, and architecture of the story collection as a whole. How does a collection become greater than the sum of its parts? How does an author manage so many stops and starts? We will write about, discuss, and present the collections we read, participate in Q&A with visiting authors, and complete weekly in-class writing exercises designed to inform and inspire our own writing.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 5 units total)
ENGLISH 190W:
Contemporary Women Writers (FEMGEN 190W)
"Every word a woman writes changes the story of the world, revises the official version¿¿is this what sets contemporary women writers apart? How can we understand the relation between the radically unprecedented material such writers explore and ¿the official version¿? What do we find compelling in their challenging of structure, style, chronology, character? Our reading- and writing-intensive seminar will dig into the ways women writers confront, appropriate, subvert, or re-imagine convention, investigating, for example, current debate about the value of ¿dislikable¿ or ¿angry¿ women characters and their impact on readers. While pursuing such issues, you'll write a variety of both essayistic and fictional responses, each of which is designed to complicate and enlarge your creative and critical responsiveness and to spark ideas for your final project. By affirming risk-taking and originality throughout our quarter, seminar conversation will support gains in your close-reading practice and in articulating your views, including respectful dissent, in lively discourse¿in short, skills highly useful in a writer¿s existence. Our texts will come from various genres, including short stories, novels, essays, blog posts, reviews, memoir.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 191:
Intermediate Creative Nonfiction
Continuation of ENGLISH 91. Reading a variety of creative essays, completing short writing exercises, and discussing narrative techniques in class. Students submit a short (2-5 page) and a longer (8-20 page) nonfictional work to be workshopped and revised. Prerequisite ENGLISH 90 or ENGLISH 91. First priority to undergrads. Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
ENGLISH 192T:
Topics in Intermediate Poetry Writing
Generation and discussion of student poems. How to recognize a poem's internal structure; how to seek models for work. Students submit portfolio for group critique. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: ENGLISH 92.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 10 units total)
ENGLISH 195B:
How to Write a Great Essay: A Writing Bootcamp for Undergraduates
The course will be a practical workshop for undergraduates on how to improve essay-writing skills. we will focus on the finer points of vocabulary, grammar, mechanics, logic, timing, intellectual precision; how to connect with (and delight) an audience; how to magnify a theme; how to deflect counter-arguments; how to develop your own sophisticated authorial 'style'; how to write sentences (and papers!) your reader will care about and admire and maybe even remember.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ENGLISH 196A:
Honors Seminar: Critical Approaches to Literature
Overview of literary-critical methodologies, with a practical emphasis shaped by participants' current honors projects. Restricted to students in the English Honors Program.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 240A:
Crooks, Quacks, and Courtesans: Jacobean City Comedy (ENGLISH 340A, HISTORY 232E, HISTORY 332E)
We will read a series of plays set in or around early modern London, written by playwrights such as Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, and John Marston. The course will explore the plays¿ hilarious representations of the London underworld, with its confidence tricksters and naive victims, as well as more serious topics such as social mobility and social relations, economic expansion, disease transmission, and the built environment. Plays studied will include: The Alchemist, Epicene, The Roaring Girl, A Chaste Maid In Cheapside, The Dutch Courtesan.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ESF 2:
Education as Self-Fashioning: How to Become a Global Citizen?
The concept of a liberal arts education was first developed in eighteenth-century Prussia by Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) and soon adopted by other countries, including the United States. Humboldt considered a liberal arts education to be both a foundational and transformative process in the development of the self, and he was convinced that it was essential in creating moral and ethical citizens in an increasingly global world. From his point of view, the cultivation of oneself leads to the freedom of thought, freedom to act, freedom to assert oneself as an individual, freedom to access knowledge, and freedom to determine one's own role in society. In this course we will explore Humboldt's concept of education and examine the ways in which it is reflected and refracted in debates about university education still today. This course satisfies the Aesthetic and Interpretive Inquiry WAY (AII).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, Writing 1
ESF 2A:
Education as Self-Fashioning: How to Become a Global Citizen or the German Tradition of Bildung.
This course considers education not as training in external knowledge or skills but as a lifelong process of development and growth in which an individual cultivates her or his spiritual, cultural and social sensibilities. This concept of education - education as a formative and transformative process in the development of the self - is called Bildung in German and has a long tradition reaching back to the Middle Ages. The term first appears in the writings of the mystic Meister Eckhart who defines it as self-composure which he regards as a crucial stage in our spiritual development. The concept of Bildung takes on a secular meaning in the Reformation, when Ulrich von Hutten first coined the phrase that has become Stanford's motto: "Die Luft der Freiheit weht". (The wind of freedom is blowing). What he meant is that the cultivation of oneself leads to the freedom of thought, freedom to act, freedom to assert oneself as an individual, freedom to access knowledge, and freedom to determine one's own role in society. This idea of education as an internal and transformative process is central to debates in the nineteenth century (both in Germany and the United States) in which self-reflection is seen as key to the cultivation of an individual's identity and to her or his role as a member of society. In this course we will read reflections on education as self-fashioning by some of the greatest German thinkers spanning from the Middle Ages to the present. We will also enjoy some contemporary parodies of such reflections. These readings and our discussions will help us to understand Stanford undergraduate education as a transformative process of self-realization in our global society.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, Writing 1
ESF 3:
Education as Self-Fashioning: How to be a Public Intellectual
Can education impart more than bookish learning? This is the question that critics have posed since the European Renaissance. Through their reflections, these critics posited an alternative ideal of education that prepared the student for life outside the academy. Over the centuries, this ideal would evolve into what we would today call an 'intellectual' - but this modern concept only captures a part of what earlier writers thought learning could achieve. In this course, we will focus on how education can prepare students to engage in public debates and the role that the university can play in public learning.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, Writing 1
ESF 3A:
Education as Self-Fashioning: How to be a Public Intellectual
Can education impart more than bookish learning? This is the question that critics have posed since the European Renaissance. Through their reflections, these critics posited an alternative ideal of education that prepared the student for life outside the academy. Over the centuries, this ideal would evolve into what we would today call an 'intellectual' - but this modern concept only captures a part of what earlier writers thought learning could achieve. In this course, we will focus on how education can prepare students to engage in public debates and the role that the university can play in public learning.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, Writing 1
ESF 6:
Education as Self-Fashioning: The Wind of Freedom
Stanford's unofficial motto, "the wind of freedom blows," engraved in German on the university seal, invites us the ponder freedom in the context of education. What is the relation between freedom and the "liberal" arts? Does studying free your mind? Does free will even exist? If so, how does education help you develop its potential? This course will look at various authors -- from antiquity through the 20th century -- who have thought about the blessings, burdens, and obligations of human freedom. Beginning with Eve in the Garden of Eden, we will explore how exercising freedom in your personal choices and conduct not only determines your fate as an individual but carries with it a measure of responsibility for the world. We will place special emphasis on the implications of such responsibility in our own time.nFriday lectures will be held 9:30am-10:50am in Bishop Auditorium.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1
ESF 6A:
Education as Self-Fashioning: The Wind of Freedom
Stanford's unofficial motto, "the wind of freedom blows," engraved in German on the university seal, invites us the ponder freedom in the context of education. What is the relation between freedom and the "liberal" arts? Does studying free your mind? Does free will even exist? If so, how does education help you develop its potential? This course will look at various authors -- from antiquity through the 20th century -- who have thought about the blessings, burdens, and obligations of human freedom. Beginning with Eve in the Garden of Eden, we will explore how exercising freedom in your personal choices and conduct not only determines your fate as an individual but carries with it a measure of responsibility for the world. We will place special emphasis on the implications of such responsibility in our own time.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1
ESF 8:
Education as Self-Fashioning: Recognizing the Self and Its Possibilities
Some philosophers have argued that we have privileged and direct access to our inner selves. If this were true, it would make self-knowledge perhaps the easiest sort of knowledge to obtain. But there are many considerations that mitigate against this view of self-knowledge. Consider, for example, the slave who is so oppressed that he fully accepts his slavery and cannot even imagine the possibility of freedom for himself. Such a slave fails to recognize his own capacity for freedom and autonomous self-governance. Though the slave is perhaps the extreme case, many people, it seems, fail to recognize the full range of possibilities open to them. In this course, we shall examine both some of the ways in which one¿s capacity for self-recognition may be distorted and undermined and the role of education in enabling a person to fully recognize the self and its possibilities. What constrains the range of possibilities we see as really open to us? Contrary to the Cartesian, we shall argue that full self-recognition is an often a hard-won achievement. And we shall ask how education might function to give us a less constricted and more liberating sense of the self and its possibilities. We will consider such questions through the lens of philosophy, literature and psychology.nFriday lectures will be held 9:30am-10:50am in Bishop Auditorium.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1
ESF 8A:
Education as Self-Fashioning: Recognizing the Self and Its Possibilities
Some philosophers have argued that we have privileged and direct access to our inner selves. If this were true, it would make self-knowledge perhaps the easiest sort of knowledge to obtain. But there are many considerations that mitigate against this view of self-knowledge. Consider, for example, the slave who is so oppressed that he fully accepts his slavery and cannot even imagine the possibility of freedom for himself. Such a slave fails to recognize his own capacity for freedom and autonomous self-governance. Though the slave is perhaps the extreme case, many people, it seems, fail to recognize the full range of possibilities open to them. In this course, we shall examine both some of the ways in which one¿s capacity for self-recognition may be distorted and undermined and the role of education in enabling a person to fully recognize the self and its possibilities. What constrains the range of possibilities we see as really open to us? Contrary to the Cartesian, we shall argue that full self-recognition is an often a hard-won achievement. And we shall ask how education might function to give us a less constricted and more liberating sense of the self and its possibilities. We will consider such questions through the lens of philosophy, literature and psychology.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1
ESF 9:
Education as Self-Fashioning: Chinese Traditions of the Self
In this class we explore thinking about the self and its cultivation that took root and flourished in China. Chinese civilization was centrally concerned with issues of the self, but it developed methods and ideals of cultivation that have no obvious parallel in the European tradition. We will be concerned primarily with two clusters of Chinese thought and expression. First, we will look at major philosophical traditions (Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism) to see how they structured thinking about education and self-cultivation. The three ¿schools¿ of thought staked out different ideals for the self that provided China with range and flexibility in concepts of personhood. Second, we will examine Chinese aesthetic traditions, especially those of qin music, calligraphy and painting, to understand how the arts were used as a platform for self-cultivation and to communicate the artist¿s essential nature to others. The course also gives attention to the gendering of concepts of the self and to the tradition of martial arts as self-discipline and self-strengthening. Students should emerge from the course with an understanding of how a major civilization located outside Western traditions developed its own answers to these questions of universal human concern.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 1
ESF 9A:
Education as Self-Fashioning: Chinese Traditions of the Self
In this class we explore thinking about the self and its cultivation that took root and flourished in China. Chinese civilization was centrally concerned with issues of the self, but it developed methods and ideals of cultivation that have no obvious parallel in the European tradition. We will be concerned primarily with two clusters of Chinese thought and expression. First, we will look at major philosophical traditions (Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism) to see how they structured thinking about education and self-cultivation. The three ¿schools¿ of thought staked out different ideals for the self that provided China with range and flexibility in concepts of personhood. Second, we will examine Chinese aesthetic traditions, especially those of qin music, calligraphy and painting, to understand how the arts were used as a platform for self-cultivation and to communicate the artist¿s essential nature to others. The course also gives attention to the gendering of concepts of the self and to the tradition of martial arts as self-discipline and self-strengthening. Students should emerge from the course with an understanding of how a major civilization located outside Western traditions developed its own answers to these questions of universal human concern.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 1
ESF 13:
Education as Self-Fashioning: The Discovery of The Mind
The struggle to know began long before you entered the university. The university as an institution has its origins in the late Middle Ages; it has been reinvented repeatedly as our ideas about education have changed. People have been rebelling against how institutions define learning (and for whom) ever since. This course introduces you to some of the most thoughtful and interesting reflections on the nature and purpose of an education, on knowledge and ignorance, at the birth of the modern world. Understanding the quest to discover the mind and to embrace learning as a lifelong endeavor is a starting point to reflect on the goals of your own education, as an engaged intellectual citizen of the world.nFriday lectures will be held 9:30am-10:50am in Bishop Auditorium.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI, Writing 1
ESF 13A:
Education as Self-Fashioning: The Discovery of the Mind
The struggle to know began long before you entered the university. The university as an institution has its origins in the late Middle Ages; it has been reinvented repeatedly as our ideas about education have changed. People have been rebelling against how institutions define learning (and for whom) ever since. This course introduces you to some of the most thoughtful and interesting reflections on the nature and purpose of an education, on knowledge and ignorance, at the birth of the modern world. Understanding the quest to discover the mind and to embrace learning as a lifelong endeavor is a starting point to reflect on the goals of your own education, as an engaged intellectual citizen of the world.
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI, Writing 1
ESF 14:
Education as Self-Fashioning: The Challenge of Choice
The Challenge of Choice addresses these questions by engaging key texts from the liberal arts tradition that explore decisions and their consequences, exposing the multi-faceted nature of choice. By representing characters with whom we sympathize, as well as those whose experience seems worlds away from our own, artists (novelists, playwrights, filmmakers) ask us to consider the web of circumstance that influences a character to choose one course over another. Distance from our own subjectivity the stories are not ours, but they could be allows these works to shed light on the dilemmas that face us as we go about `choosing the life we think we would like to live. Confronting these works, we find that the kinds of choices we make grow in depth, magnitude, and significance.nFriday lectures will be held 9:30am-10:50am in Bishop Auditorium.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, Writing 1
ESF 14A:
Education as Self-Fashioning: The Challenge of Choice
The Challenge of Choice addresses these questions by engaging key texts from the liberal arts tradition that explore decisions and their consequences, exposing the multi-faceted nature of choice. By representing characters with whom we sympathize, as well as those whose experience seems worlds away from our own, artists (novelists, playwrights, filmmakers) ask us to consider the web of circumstance that influences a character to choose one course over another. Distance from our own subjectivity the stories are not ours, but they could be allows these works to shed light on the dilemmas that face us as we go about `choosing the life we think we would like to live. Confronting these works, we find that the kinds of choices we make grow in depth, magnitude, and significance.
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
ESF 15:
Education as Self-Fashioning: College and the Good Life
Academic study was once concerned with one overriding question: what is the best way to live our lives? What are the ultimate goals and values we should privilege over others? Today we often assume that value choices are personal. But many teachers in Antiquity (and beyond) thought that these choices needed to be debated, and that education demanded that we debate and think them through. In this class, we ask questions about the good life, but we also consider whether college is still designed to raise such questions. We will read thought-provoking, influential texts from Antiquity and modern times, by such writers as Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Montaigne, Voltaire, DuBois, and Martha Nussbaum.nFriday lectures will be held 9:30am-10:50am in Bishop Auditorium.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, Writing 1
ESF 15A:
Education as Self-Fashioning: College and The Good Life
Academic study was once concerned with one overriding question: what is the best way to live our lives? What are the ultimate goals and values we should privilege over others? Today we often assume that value choices are personal. But many teachers in Antiquity (and beyond) thought that these choices needed to be debated, and that education demanded that we debate and think them through. In this class, we ask questions about the good life, but we also consider whether college is still designed to raise such questions. We will read thought-provoking, influential texts from Antiquity and modern times, by such writers as Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Montaigne, Voltaire, DuBois, and Martha Nussbaum.
| Units: 7
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
ETHICSOC 20:
Introduction to Moral Philosophy (PHIL 2)
What should I do with my life? What kind of person should I be? How should we treat others? What makes actions right or wrong? What is good and what is bad? What should we value? How should we organize society? Is there any reason to be moral? Is morality relative or subjective? How, if at all, can such questions be answered? Intensive introduction to theories and techniques in contemporary moral philosophy.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
ETHICSOC 130A:
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 181, CLASSICS 381, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 133/333.) Political philosophy in classical antiquity, focusing on canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Historical background. Topics include: political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; and law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
ETHICSOC 131S:
Modern Political Thought: Machiavelli to Marx and Mill (POLISCI 131L)
This course offers an introduction to the history of Western political thought from the late fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries. We will consider the development of ideas like individual rights, government by consent, and the protection of private property. We will also explore the ways in which these ideas continue to animate contemporary political debates. Thinkers covered will include: Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
ETHICSOC 170:
Ethical Theory (PHIL 170, PHIL 270)
This course serves as a rigorous introduction to moral philosophy for students with little or no background. We will examine ideas from four important figures in moral thought: Plato, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill. Each of these philosophers played an integral role in the development of moral philosophy, because each offers thoughtful, compelling answers to some of the discipline's most central questions. These questions include: What is involved in being a good person or living a good life? What should we value, and why? How are we motivated by morality? How (if at all) is morality a matter of what is customary or conventional? How (much) do the consequences of our actions matter? Importantly, this course is not only about learning what others have thought about the answers to these (and related) questions. By considering and criticizing the ideas and arguments of these philosophers, the aim is to cultivate our own ability to think systematically, rationally, and reflectively, and to make up our own minds about how to answer these kinds of questions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
ETHICSOC 172:
History of Modern Moral Philosophy (PHIL 172, PHIL 272)
A critical exploration of some of the main forms of systematic moral theorizing in Western philosophy from Hobbes onward and their roots in ancient ethical thought. Prerequistes are some prior familiarity with utilitarianism and Kantian ethics and a demonstrated interest in philosophy.
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
ETHICSOC 176:
Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition (PHIL 176, PHIL 276, POLISCI 137A, POLISCI 337A)
(Graduate students register for 276.) Why and under what conditions do human beings need political institutions? What makes them legitimate or illegitimate? What is the nature, source, and extent of the obligation to obey the legitimate ones, and how should people alter or overthrow the others? Study of the answers given to such questions by major political theorists of the early modern period: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
FEMGEN 13N:
Women Making Music (MUSIC 14N)
Preference to freshmen. Women's musical activities across times and cultures; how ideas about gender influence the creation, performance, and perception of music.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 17:
Gender and Power in Ancient Greece
(Formerly CLASSGEN 17.) Introduction to the sex-gender system of ancient Greece, with comparative material from modern America. How myths, religious rituals, athletics, politics and theater reinforced gender stereotypes and sometimes undermined them. Skills: finding clues, identifying patterns and making connections amongst the components of a strange and beautiful culture very different from our own. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 20Q:
Making of the Modern Woman: Robots, Aliens, & the Feminine in Science Fiction (ENGLISH 20Q)
What does the genre of science fiction have to say about gender identity? How are women in science fiction represented by themselves and by others? Who are women? What is gender and how is it constructed and performed? What is the relationship between man and machine? Between woman and machine? How is gender represented through narratives of literal alien otherness? What does it mean to be a woman online or in gamer culture? Material will include feminist analysis of gender in popular science fiction literature and visual media from 19th through 21st centuries. Texts range from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Alex Garland¿s Ex Machina.nnThis course will be reading and writing intensive but should also offer opportunities for spirited discussion. We will be engaging with sensitive subjects such as race, class, gender, and sexuality. Assignments include weekly short essays, discussion leadership, individual presentations, and a final research paper.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 39:
Long Live Our 4Bil. Year Old Mother: Black Feminist Praxis, Indigenous Resistance, Queer Possibility (AFRICAAM 39, CSRE 39, NATIVEAM 39)
How can art facilitate a culture that values women, mothers, transfolks, caregivers, girls? How can black, indigenous, and people of color frameworks help us reckon with oppressive systems that threaten safety and survival for marginalized people and the lands that sustain us? How can these questions reveal the brilliant and inventive forms of survival that precede and transcend harmful systems toward a world of possibility? Each week, this course will call on artists, scholars, and organizers of color who clarify the urgency and interconnection of issues from patriarchal violence to environmental degradation; criminalization to legacies of settler colonialism. These same thinkers will also speak to the imaginative, everyday knowledge and creative healing practices that our forebears have used for millennia to give vision and rise to true transformation.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 94Q:
The Future is Feminine (ENGLISH 94Q)
Gender is one of the great social issues of our time. What does it mean to be female or feminine? How has femininity been defined, performed, punished, or celebrated? Writers are some of our most serious and eloquent investigators of these questions, and in this class we'll read many of our greatest writers on the subject of femininity, as embodied by both men and women, children and adults, protagonists and antagonists. From Virginia Woolf to Ernest Hemingway, from Beloved to Gone Girl (and even "RuPaul's Drag Race"), we'll ask how the feminine is rendered and contested. We'll do so in order to develop a history and a vocabulary of femininity so that we may, in this important time, write our own way in to the conversation. This is first and foremost a creative writing class, and our goals will be to consider in our own work the importance of the feminine across the entire spectrum of gender, sex, and identity. We will also study how we write about femininity, using other writers as models and inspiration. As we engage with these other writers, we will think broadly and bravely, and explore the expressive opportunities inherent in writing. We will explore our own creative practices through readings, prompted exercises, improv, games, collaboration, workshop, and revision, all with an eye toward writing the feminine future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
FEMGEN 102:
Art and Social Criticism (AFRICAAM 102B, AMSTUD 102, ARTHIST 162B, CSRE 102A)
Visual artists have long been in the forefront of social criticism in America. Since the 1960s, various visual strategies have helped emergent progressive political movements articulate and represent complex social issues. Which artists and particular art works/projects have become key anchors for discourses on racism, sexism, economic and social inequality, immigrant rights and climate change? We will learn about a spectrum of political art designed to raise social awareness, spark social change and rouse protest. The Art Workers Coalition's agit-prop opposing the Vietnam War and ACT-UP's emblematic signs and symbols during the AIDS/HIV crisis of the 1980s galvanized a generation into action. Works such as Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party (1979), Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum (1992), and Glenn Ligon's paintings appropriating fragments from African-American literature all raised awareness by excavating historical evidence of the long legacy resisting marginalization. For three decades feminist artists Adrian Piper, Barbara Kruger and the Guerilla Girls have combined institutional critique and direct address into a provocative form of criticality. Recent art for social justice is reaching ever broadening publics by redrawing the role of artist and audience exemplified by the democratization of poster making and internet campaigns of Occupy and the Movement for Black Lives. We will also consider the collective aesthetic activisms in the Post-Occupy era including Global Ultra Luxury Faction, Climate Justice art projects, and the visual culture of Trump era mass protests. Why are each of these examples successful as influential and enduring markers of social criticism? What have these socially responsive practices contributed to our understanding of American history?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 103:
Feminist and Queer Theories and Methods Across the Disciplines (FEMGEN 203, PHIL 179A, PHIL 279A)
(Graduate Students register for PHIL 279A or FEMGEN 203) This course is an opportunity to explore the difference feminist and queer perspectives make in creative arts, humanities, and social science research.nPrerequisites: Feminist Studies 101 or equivalent with consent of instructor.nNOTE: This course must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for WAYS credit. The 2 unit option is for graduate students only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 110X:
Introduction to Comparative Queer Literary Studies (COMPLIT 110, COMPLIT 310, FEMGEN 310X)
Introduction to the comparative literary study of important gay, lesbian, queer, bisexual, and transgender writers and their changing social, political, and cultural contexts from the 1880s to today: Oscar Wilde, Rachilde, Radclyffe Hall, Djuna Barnes, James Baldwin, Jean Genet, Audre Lorde, Cherrie Moraga, Jeanette Winterson, Alison Bechdel and others, discussed in the context of 20th-century feminist and queer literary and social theories of gender and sexuality. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course 110 or 110X for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 113X:
Feminist Poetry in the U.S., 1973-2017
Traces the development of feminist poetry in the United States from second wave feminists like Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, and Alicia Ostriker to contemporary poetry of Anne Boyer, Steph Burt, and Eileen Myles, among others. We will think broadly about the relationship between politics and poetry, and focus specifically on the influences of second- and third- wave feminism on poetry produced by women in the U.S. from the 1970s until today.Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FEMGEN 115:
Queer Reading and Queer Writing in Early Modern England
Considers the possibility of identifying queer reading and writing practices in early modern England as well the theoretical and historical obstacles such a project necessarily encounters. Focus on the role which Renaissance discourses of desire continue to play in our negotiations of homo/erotic subjectivity, identity politics, and sexual and gender difference. Study of Renaissance queerness in relation to the classical tradition on the one hand and the contemporary discourses of religion, law, and politics on the other. Readings include plays, poems, and prose narratives as well as letters, pamphlets, and ephemeral literature. Both major and minor authors will be represented.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 117F:
Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film (AFRICAAM 117J, AMSTUD 117, ASNAMST 117D, CSRE 117D)
This course introduces students to the theoretical and analytical frameworks necessary to critically understand constructions of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary American film. Through a sustained engagement with a range of independent and Hollywood films produced since the 1990s, students analyze the ways that cinematic representations have both reflected and constructed dominant notions of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States. Utilizing an intersectional framework that sees race, gender, and sexuality as always defined by one another, the course examines the ways that dominant notions of difference have been maintained and contested through film in the United States. Films to be discussed include Better Luck Tomorrow, La La Land, Mosquita y Mari, Get Out, and Moonlight.nTO BE ADDED TO THE WAITLIST: Please email williamgow@stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 130S:
Sex and the Novel (ENGLISH 130)
How do novels represent sexual life? This course reads texts from the eighteenth century to the present day, and considers how novelists represent the discombobulating effects of desire in fictional prose. Authors may include: S. Richardson, N. Hawthorne, J. Austen, E. Brontë, G. Gissing, H. James, D.H. Lawrence, J. Joyce, V. Nabokov, J. Baldwin, A. Hollinghurst and Z. Smith.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 131:
Introduction to Queer Theory
What can Queer Theory help us do and undo? Emerging at the intersections of feminist theory, queer activism, and critical race studies in the 1990's, Queer Theory has become a dynamic interdisciplinary field that informs a wide range of cultural and artistic practices. This course will introduce students to the development of queer theory as well as core concepts and controversies in the field. While considering theoretical frames for thinking gender, sexuality, and sex, we will explore the possibilities--and limitations--of queer theory with a focus on doing and undoing identity, knowledge, and power.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 133:
Transgender Performance and Performativity (TAPS 133T)
This course examines theater, performance art, dance, and embodied practice by transgender artists. Students will learn the history and politics of transgender performance while considering the creative processes and formal aesthetics trans artists use to make art. We will analyze creative work in conversation with critical and theoretical texts from the fields of performance studies, art history, and queer studies.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
FEMGEN 139B:
American Women Writers, 1850-1920 (AMSTUD 139B, ENGLISH 139B)
This course traces the ways in which female writers negotiated a series of literary, social, and intellectual movements, from abolitionism and sentimentalism in the nineteenth century to Progressivism and avant-garde modernism in the twentieth. Authors include Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Rebecca Harding Davis, Emily Dickinson, Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein, Willa Cather, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II
FEMGEN 144F:
Female Modernists: Women Writers in Paris Between the Wars
The course will focus on expatriate women writers - American and British - who lived and wrote in Paris between the wars. Among them: Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, H.D., Djuna Barnes, Margaret Anderson, Janet Flanner, Natalie Barney, Kay Boyle, Mina Loy, Romaine Brooks, Mary Butts, Radclyffe Hall, Colette, and Jean Rhys. A central theme will be Paris as a lure and inspiration for bohemian female modernists, and the various alternative and emancipatory literary communities they created.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FEMGEN 145:
Culture Wars: Art and Social Conflict in the USA, 1890-1950 (AMSTUD 145M, ARTHIST 145, ARTHIST 345)
This course examines social conflicts and political controversies in American culture through the lens of visual art and photography. We consider how visual images both reflect and participate in the social and political life of the nation and how the terms of citizenship have been represented¿and, at times, contested¿by artists throughout the first half of the 20th century. The class explores the relation between American art and the body politic by focusing on issues of poverty, war, censorship, consumerism, class identity, and racial division.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 150:
Sex, Gender, and Power in Modern China (CHINA 115, CHINA 215, FEMGEN 250)
Investigates how sex, gender, and power are entwined in the Chinese experience of modernity. Topics include anti-footbinding campaigns, free love/free sex, women's mobilization in revolution and war, the new Marriage Law of 1950, Mao's iron girls, postsocialist celebrations of sensuality, and emergent queer politics. Readings range from feminist theory to China-focused historiography, ethnography, memoir, biography, fiction, essay, and film. All course materials are in English.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 150D:
Women Poets (ENGLISH 150D)
The development of women's poetry from the 17th to the 20th century. How these poets challenge and enhance the canon, amending and expanding ideas of tone, voice and craft, while revising societal expectations of the poet's identity. Poets include Katharine Philips, Letitia Barbauld, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charlotte Mew, Sylvia Plath, and Adrienne Rich.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FEMGEN 153Q:
Reading and Writing the Gendered Story (CSRE 153Q)
Exploration of novels, stories, memoirs and micro-narratives in which gender plays a major role. The texts are by writers of varied genders and sexual orientations as well as varied class, racial and national backgrounds. Written assignments present a mixture of academic and creative options.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
FEMGEN 154G:
Black Magic: Ethnicity, Race, and Identity in Performance Cultures (AFRICAAM 154G, CSRE 154D, TAPS 154G)
In 2013, CaShawn Thompson devised a Twitter hashtag, #blackgirlmagic, to celebrate the beauty and intelligence of black women. Twitter users quickly adopted the slogan, using the hashtag to celebrate everyday moments of beauty, accomplishment, and magic. In contrast, #blackmagic is used to describe everything from the uncanny to the personal. This course examines the discursive phenomenon of "black magic" and its permutations throughout Anglo-American histories. We will investigate the binaries of black/dark, white/light magic that has entered our contemporary lexicon, reading material on religion, magic performance, and theater.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 159:
James Baldwin & Twentieth Century Literature (AFRICAAM 159, ENGLISH 159)
Black, gay and gifted, Baldwin was hailed as a "spokesman for the race", although he personally, and controversially, eschewed titles and classifications of all kinds. This course examines his classic novels and essays as well his exciting work across many lesser-examined domains - poetry, music, theatre, sermon, photo-text, children's literature, public media, comedy and artistic collaboration. Placing his work in context with other writers of the 20C (Faulkner, Wright,Morrison) and capitalizing on a resurgence of interest in the writer (NYC just dedicated a year of celebration of Baldwin and there are 2 new journals dedicated to study of Baldwin), the course seeks to capture the power and influence of Baldwin's work during the Civil Rights era as well as his relevance in the "post-race" transnational 21st century, when his prescient questioning of the boundaries of race, sex, love, leadership and country assume new urgency.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 160:
Performance and History: Rethinking the Ballerina (DANCE 160, TAPS 160, TAPS 260)
The ballerina occupies a unique place in popular imagination as an object of over-determined femininity as well as an emblem of extreme physical accomplishment for the female dancer. This seminar is designed as an investigation into histories of the ballerina as an iconographic symbol and cultural reference point for challenges to political and gender ideals. Through readings, videos, discussions and viewings of live performances this class investigates pivotal works, artists and eras in the global histories of ballet from its origins as a symbol of patronage and power in the 15th century through to its radical experiments as a site of cultural obedience and disobedience in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 160M:
Introduction to Representations of the Middle East in Dance, Performance, & Popular Culture (CSRE 160M, DANCE 160M, TAPS 160M)
This course will introduce students to the ways in which the Middle East has been represented and performed by/in the 'West' through dance, performance, and popular culture in both historical and contemporary contexts. A brief look through today's media sources exposes a wide range of racialized and gendered representations of the Middle East that shape the way the world imagines the Middle East to be. As postcolonial theorist Edward Said explains, the framework we call Orientalism establishes the ontological character of the Orient and the Oriental as inherently `Other'. Starting with 19th century colonialism and continuing into the post-9/11 era, this course will trace the Western production, circulation, and consumption of representations of the Middle East as 'Other' in relation to global geopolitics. We will further examine dance forms produced in mid-twentieth century Iran and Egypt, with particular attention to nation-state building and constructions of gender. Finally, we will examine artistic productions and practices from the Middle East and Middle Eastern diasporic communities that respond to colonialism, war, displacement, secularism, and Euro-American Empire. Using dance studies, postcolonial feminist, and critical race theoretical frameworks, we will consider the gender, racial, political, and cultural implications of selected performance works and practices in order to analyze how bodies produce meaning in dance, performance art, theater, film, photography, and new media. Students will engage in multiple modes of learning; the course will include lectures, engaged group discussions, viewing of live and recorded performance, embodied participation in dance practice, student oral presentations, and a variety of writing exercises. Course assignments will culminate in a final research project related to class themes and methods.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 161D:
Introduction to Dance Studies: Dancing Across Stages, Clubs, Screens, and Borders (CSRE 61, DANCE 161D, TAPS 161D)
This introduction to dance studies course explores dance practice and performance as means for producing cultural meaning. Through theoretical and historical texts and viewing live and recorded dance, we will develop tools for analyzing dance and understanding its place in social, cultural, and political structures. This uses dance and choreography as a lens to more deeply understand a wide range of identity and cultural formations, such as gender, race, sexuality, (dis)ability, (trans)nationality, and empire. We will analyze dancing bodies that move across stages, dance clubs, film screens, and border zones. We will examine dance from diverse locales and time periods including ballet, modern and contemporary dance, contact improvisation, folkloric dance, burlesque, street dance, queer club dance, drag performance, music videos, TV dance competitions, and intermedia/new media performance. In addition to providing theoretical and methodological grounding in dance studies, this course develops performance analysis skills and hones the ability to write critically and skillfully about dance. No previous experience in dance is necessary to successfully complete the course.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 166:
The Divine Feminine in India (RELIGST 166)
What happens when God is a woman? Is the Goddess a feminist? The Goddess, in her numerous incarnations, is foundational to much of Indian religiosity, whether Hindu, Buddhist, or even Jain¿and in turn, without her story, much of the theology and practice of these religions remains incomprehensible. This course examines the principal expressions of the theology and ritual worship of the Goddess in Indian history, from the Vedas to the Hindu Epics, to Indian philosophy, tantric ritual practice and modern global and new age movements in order to understand how the gendering of divinity affects theological speculation, religious experience, and embodied religious identity.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 176:
Feminism and Contemporary Art (ARTHIST 176, ARTHIST 376, CSRE 167)
(Same as ARTHIST 176) The impact of second wave feminism on art making and art historical practice in the 70s, and its reiteration and transformation in contemporary feminist work. Topics: sexism and art history, feminist studio programs in the 70s, essentialism and self-representation, themes of domesticity, the body in feminist art making, bad girls, the exclusion of women of color and lesbians from the art historical mainstream, notions of performativity.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 180:
Gender Relations in Islam (RELIGST 180)
This course investigates the ways in which gender identities and relationships between men and women have been articulated, constructed, and refashioned throughout the Muslim world. Starting with problematizing the fixed notions of gender and sexuality, we map the attitudes toward these notions through visiting a diverse array of sources from the Qur¿an, Sunna, and legal documents to historical and anthropological case studies, literature, and film from South East Asia to Europe and North America. We examine the notions of femininity and masculinity in the Qur¿an, family laws, and attitudes toward homosexuality and transgendered populations. We read examples of ambiguous use of language with regards to gender and sexuality in Persian poetry and mystical traditions. We study the dynamic relationship between Islam and Feminism in the Muslim world. Finally, we witness the implications of these attitudes in our case studies and stories, from a divorce court in Iran to a wedding in Sudan.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FEMGEN 183:
Re- Imagining American Borders (AMSTUD 183, CSRE 183)
In this second volatile and violent year of the Trump presidency, American borders of all kinds seem to be dangerously tight. Immigrant travel bans and ICE deportations, mass incarceration, gendered violence, racialized attacks, urban and rural divisions emphasizing class, and constant social media anger all underscore a vision of an America of intractable difference. This course investigates sources of these borderlines and most crucially how novelists, filmmakers, poets, visual artists and essayists perceive racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, religious and class borders in this country as they may ¿re-imagine¿ difference possibly via Vijay Prashad¿s ¿polyculturalism¿ or Gloria Anzaldùa¿s ¿borderlands.¿ Texts include those of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Boots Riley, Dee Rees, Ryan Coogler, Magdalena Gomez, Janice Lobo Sapigao, Layli Long Soldier, Naomi Shihab Nye, Edwidge Danticat, Sherman Alexie, Shailja Patel, Beyonce, Kara Walker, and the podcast ¿Ear Hustle,¿ narratives created and produced from inside San Quentin. Course work includes active discussion, journal entries, one comparative analytical essay and a creative final project/with analytical paper examining personal or community identities.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 187X:
Sex, Gender, and Violence: French Women Writers Today (FEMGEN 287X, FEMGEN 387X, FRENCH 187, FRENCH 287, FRENCH 387)
Long before the 2017 #Metoo campaign, French women writers have explored through powerful fictions and autobiographies the different shades of economic, social, psychological, physical, or sexual violence that is exerted against, but also by and between, women. How does literature - the power of words - address, deconstruct or comfort power dynamics (during sex and between the sexes) that are usually silenced, taboo or unspeakable? Themes explored: sex and gender, sex and power, rape culture, sexual and moral taboos (incest, abortion, pornography, infanticide, lesbianism), the body as social stigma or source of meaning. Special attention given to narrative and descriptive strategies designed to avert, expose, deconstruct or account for specifically feminine experiences (rape, orgasm, pregnancy). Authors include Marie Darrieusecq, Christine Angot, Annie Ernaux, Marie NDiaye, Virginie Despentes, Leila Slimani, Ivan Jablonka along with feminist theory. Taught in French.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 188Q:
Imagining Women: Writers in Print and in Person (CSRE 188Q)
Gender roles, gender relations and sexual identity explored in contemporary literature and conversation with guest authors. Weekly meetings designated for book discussion and meeting with authors. Interest in writing and a curiosity about diverse women's lives would be helpful to students. Students will use such tools as close reading, research, analysis and imagination. Seminar requires strong voice of all participants. Oral presentations, discussion papers, final projects.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
FEMGEN 190W:
Contemporary Women Writers (ENGLISH 190W)
"Every word a woman writes changes the story of the world, revises the official version¿¿is this what sets contemporary women writers apart? How can we understand the relation between the radically unprecedented material such writers explore and ¿the official version¿? What do we find compelling in their challenging of structure, style, chronology, character? Our reading- and writing-intensive seminar will dig into the ways women writers confront, appropriate, subvert, or re-imagine convention, investigating, for example, current debate about the value of ¿dislikable¿ or ¿angry¿ women characters and their impact on readers. While pursuing such issues, you'll write a variety of both essayistic and fictional responses, each of which is designed to complicate and enlarge your creative and critical responsiveness and to spark ideas for your final project. By affirming risk-taking and originality throughout our quarter, seminar conversation will support gains in your close-reading practice and in articulating your views, including respectful dissent, in lively discourse¿in short, skills highly useful in a writer¿s existence. Our texts will come from various genres, including short stories, novels, essays, blog posts, reviews, memoir.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
FEMGEN 192:
Women in French Cinema: 1958- (FILMSTUD 112, FRENCH 192)
Women as objects and subjects of the voyeuristic gaze inherent to cinema. The myth of the feminine idol in French films in historical and cultural context since the New Wave until now. The mythology of stars as the imaginary vehicle that helped France to change from traditional society to modern, culturally mixed nation. The evolution of female characters, roles, actresses, directors in the film industry. Filmmakers include Vadim, Buñuel, Truffaut, Varda, Chabrol, Colline Serreau, Tonie Marshall. Discussion in English; films in French with English subtitles. 3 units, 4 units or 5 units. Class meets Tuesday/Thursday 1:30-2:50pm; film screenings Monday 6:00-8:30pm. NOTE: FILMSTUD students must take this course for 3 units only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
FEMGEN 205:
Songs of Love and War: Gender, Crusade, Politics (FRENCH 205)
Analysis of medieval love, satirical and Crusade lyrics of the trouabdours. Study of deictic address, corporeal subjectivity, the female voice, love debates, and the body as a figure of political conflict. Course readings include medieval treatises on lyric and modern translations of the troubadour tradition. Works by Ovid, Bernart de Ventadorn, Bertran de Born, La Comtessa de Dia, Thibaut de Champagne, Raimon Vidal, Dante, and Pound. Taught in English. Course includes a lab component for creation of multi-media translation projects: trobar. stanford.edu.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 258X:
Black Feminist Theater and Theory (AFRICAAM 258, CSRE 258, TAPS 258)
From the rave reviews garnered by Angelina Weld Grimke's lynching play, Rachel to recent work by Lynn Nottage on Rwanda, black women playwrights have addressed key issues in modern culture and politics. We will analyze and perform work written by black women in the U.S., Britain and the Caribbean in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include: sexuality, surrealism, colonialism, freedom, violence, colorism, love, history, community and more. Playwrights include: Angelina Grimke, Lorriane Hansberry, Winsome Pinnock, Adrienne Kennedy, Suzan- Lori Parks, Ntzoke Shange, Pearl Cleage, Sarah Jones, Anna DeVeare Smith, Alice Childress, Lydia Diamond and Zora Neale Hurston.)
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 262:
Sex and the Early Church (CLASSICS 262, RELIGST 262, RELIGST 362)
Sex and the Early Church examines the ways first- through sixth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. We will read a Roman gynecological manual, an ancient dating guide, the world's first harlequin romance novels, ancient pornography, early Christian martyrdom accounts, stories of female and male saints, instructions for how to best battle demons, visionary accounts, and monastic rules. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality. The purpose of our exploration is not simply to better understand ancient views of gender and sexuality. Rather, this investigation of a society whose sexual system often seems so surprising aims to denaturalize many of our own assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. In the process, we will also examine the ways these first centuries of what eventually became the world's largest religious tradition has profoundly affected the sexual norms of our own time. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 266:
Women's Voices in Contemporary Italian Literature (ITALIAN 266)
The traditional canon of Italian literature consists almost exclusively of male authors. Yet Italian women writers have been active since the time of Dante. This course presents an overview of women's prose fiction of the last 100 years, from Sibilla Aleramo's groundbreaking feminist novel Una donna (1906) to Elena Ferrante's La figlia oscura (2015). We will examine such concerns as the central issue of sexual violence in many female autobiographies; the experience of motherhood; the conflict between maternal love and the desire for self-determination and autonomy; paths to political awareness; reinventing the historical novel. Taught in English.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FEMGEN 287X:
Sex, Gender, and Violence: French Women Writers Today (FEMGEN 187X, FEMGEN 387X, FRENCH 187, FRENCH 287, FRENCH 387)
Long before the 2017 #Metoo campaign, French women writers have explored through powerful fictions and autobiographies the different shades of economic, social, psychological, physical, or sexual violence that is exerted against, but also by and between, women. How does literature - the power of words - address, deconstruct or comfort power dynamics (during sex and between the sexes) that are usually silenced, taboo or unspeakable? Themes explored: sex and gender, sex and power, rape culture, sexual and moral taboos (incest, abortion, pornography, infanticide, lesbianism), the body as social stigma or source of meaning. Special attention given to narrative and descriptive strategies designed to avert, expose, deconstruct or account for specifically feminine experiences (rape, orgasm, pregnancy). Authors include Marie Darrieusecq, Christine Angot, Annie Ernaux, Marie NDiaye, Virginie Despentes, Leila Slimani, Ivan Jablonka along with feminist theory. Taught in French.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FILMSTUD 4:
Introduction to Film Study
This course will introduce you to formal, historical, and cultural issues in the study of film. We will study the technological and social history of cinema and engage with philosophical and theoretical questions pertaining to film as a medium and as a cultural product, even as we undertake the formal analysis of fiction, documentary, and experimental films.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 4S:
Language of Film
This course familiarizes students with various elements of film language (cinematography, editing, sound, etc.) and introduces them to a range of approaches to cinematic analysis (authorship, genre, close formal reading, socio-historical considerations). Different types of films (narrative, documentary, and experimental) will be surveyed. Classical narrative cinema will be compared with alternative modes of story-telling.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 6:
Introduction to Media
What is a medium? This course starts from the assumption that the answer to this question is not as obvious as it might at first appear. Clearly, we know some media when we see them: radio, film, and television are in many ways paradigmatic media of the twentieth century. But what about the computational, networked media of the twenty-first century? Are these still media in the same sense, or has the nature of media changed with the emergence of digital technologies? And what, for that matter, about pre-technical media? Is painting a medium in the same sense that oil or acrylic are media, or in the sense that we speak of ¿mixed media¿? Is language a medium? Are numbers? Is the body? As we shall see, the question of what a medium is raises a number of other questions of a theoretical or even philosophical nature. How is our experience of the world affected or shaped by media? Are knowledge and perception possible apart from media, or are they always mediated by the apparatuses, instruments, or assemblages of media? What is the relation between the forms and the contents of media, and how does this relation bear on questions of aesthetics, science, technology, or politics? The lecture-based course addresses these and other questions and seeks in this way to introduce a way of thinking about media that goes beyond taken-for-granted ideas and assumptions, and that has a potentially transformative effect on a wide range of theoretical and practical interests.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 100A:
History of World Cinema I, 1895-1929 (FILMSTUD 300A)
From cinema's precursors to the advent of synchronized sound.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 100B:
History of World Cinema II, 1930-1959 (FILMSTUD 300B)
The impact of sound to the dissolution of Hollywood's studio system.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 100C:
History of World Cinema III, 1960-Present (FILMSTUD 300C)
This course will provide an overview of cinema from around the world since 1960, highlighting the cultural, political, and economic forces that have shaped various film movements over the last six decades. We will study some key film movements and national cinemas towards developing a historical appreciation of a variety of commercial and art film traditions. Through an exploration of films from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, we shall examine the industrial histories of non-Hollywood film production and exhibition practices that produce the particular cinematic cultures of each region.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 101:
Fundamentals of Cinematic Analysis: Film Sound (FILMSTUD 301)
The close analysis of film. Emphasis is on formal and narrative techniques in structure and style, and detailed readings of brief sequences. Elements such as cinematography, mise-en-scène, composition, sound, and performance. Films from various historical periods, national cinemas, directors, and genres. Prerequisite: FILMSTUD 4 or equivalent. Recommended: ARTHIST 1 or FILMSTUD 102. Course can be repeated twice for a max of 8 units.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 12 units total)
FILMSTUD 102:
Theories of the Moving Image (FILMSTUD 302)
Major theoretical arguments and debates about cinema: realism,formalism, poststructuralism, feminism, postmodernism, and phenomenology. Prerequisites: FILMSTUD 4. WIM at 4 units only.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 110:
Science Fiction Cinema (FILMSTUD 310)
Science fiction film's sense of wonder depends upon the development and revelation of new ways of seeing. The American science fiction film emphasizes the fundamental activity of human perception, its relation to bodily experience and the exploration of other worlds, new cities, and other modes of being, in such new technological spaces as the cyberspaces of the information age. It is perhaps the Hollywood genre most directly concerned with the essence of cinema itself.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 110N:
Darkness in Light: The Filmic Imagination of Horror
Preference to freshmen. From its beginnings, the cinema evinced an affinity with the phantom realm of specters, ghosts, and supernatural beings. Not only does horror have deep and diverse roots in the international history of film; it emerges as a trope of film itself, as a medium of shadows, dematerialized presence, life drained of substance. Overview of filmic imaginations of horror with a focus on the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Theories of horror, from the fantastic to the uncanny; unpacking these in light of key moments in the genre's development. The merits of vampires versus zombies. Ongoing debates through the lens of horror about cinematic representation, from Andre Bazin's idea of the mummy complex to Linda Williams' thesis of body genres to Jeffrey Sconce's notion of haunted media. Introduction to film analysis and interpretation; no prior experience in film studies required. Required weekly screening.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 112:
Women in French Cinema: 1958- (FEMGEN 192, FRENCH 192)
Women as objects and subjects of the voyeuristic gaze inherent to cinema. The myth of the feminine idol in French films in historical and cultural context since the New Wave until now. The mythology of stars as the imaginary vehicle that helped France to change from traditional society to modern, culturally mixed nation. The evolution of female characters, roles, actresses, directors in the film industry. Filmmakers include Vadim, Buñuel, Truffaut, Varda, Chabrol, Colline Serreau, Tonie Marshall. Discussion in English; films in French with English subtitles. 3 units, 4 units or 5 units. Class meets Tuesday/Thursday 1:30-2:50pm; film screenings Monday 6:00-8:30pm. NOTE: FILMSTUD students must take this course for 3 units only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
FILMSTUD 114:
Reading Comics (AMSTUD 114X, FILMSTUD 314)
The modern medium of comics, a history that spans 150 years. The flexibility of the medium encountered through the genres of humorous and dramatic comic strips, superheroes, undergrounds, independents, journalism, and autobiography. Innovative creators including McCay, Kirby, Barry, Ware, and critical writings including McCloud, Eisner, Groenstee. Topics include text/image relations, panel-to-panel relations, the page, caricature, sequence, seriality, comics in the context of the fine arts, and relations to other media.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 115:
Documentary Issues and Traditions (FILMSTUD 315)
Issues include objectivity/subjectivity, ethics, censorship, representation, reflexivity, responsibility to the audience, and authorial voice. Parallel focus on form and content.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 116:
International Documentary (FILMSTUD 316)
Historical, aesthetic, and formal developments of documentary through nonfiction films in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FILMSTUD 117:
Media and Message: The Experience of Informatoin
We live in an information age, and information comes to us through various media. But different media embody information differently, and are experienced differently. How do these differences impact the ways we come to understand the world and our place in it? One example: Photography, cinema, and console games all attempt to communicate the experience of war, but each does so in its own way -- a Robert Capa photograph of the moment when a soldier is shot is different from the sensory and narrative immersion of Saving Private Ryan, which is different from the interactive experience of Call of Duty. Following Marshall McLuhan's dictum that "the medium is the message," this course will examine the ways that different media present, organize, and structure information as forms that are "read" or experienced. The course will consider such historical media as illuminated books, print, painting, and photography, and such recent forms as cinema, television, comics, presentation software, and interactive and computational media. Readings will be drawn from across disciplines, and will include McLuhan, Sontag, Merleau-Ponty, Goffman, Jenkins, Hayles, and others. Fiction, film screenings, and comics reading will also be part of the course.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 125:
Horror Film
From its beginnings, the cinema evinced an affinity with the phantom realm of specters, ghosts, and supernatural beings. Not only does horror have deep and diverse roots in the international history of film; it emerges as a trope of film itself, as a medium of shadows, dematerialized presence, life drained of substance. Overview of filmic imaginations of horror with a focus on the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Theories of horror, from the fantastic to the uncanny; unpacking these in light of key moments in the genre's development. The merits of vampires versus zombies. Ongoing debates through the lens of horror about cinematic representation, from Linda Williams' thesis of body genres to Jeffrey Sconce's notion of haunted media.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 131:
Cinemato-graph (FILMSTUD 331, SLAVIC 185, SLAVIC 285)
The term cinematography, which literally means "inscribing motion," tends to lose the "graphic" part in modern use. However, several influential film-makers not only practiced the art of "inscribing motion" but also wrote texts discussing the aesthetic premises of cinematographic art. This course explores theories of cinema as propagated by the following film-makers: Vertov, Eisenstein, Godard, Bresson, Antonioni, Pasolini, Tarkovsky, Greenaway, and Lynch. Selected key texts will be supplemented by screenings of classic films, indicative of each director's work. NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 132A:
Indian Cinema (FILMSTUD 332A)
This course will provide an overview of cinema from India, the world's largest producer of films. We will trace the history of Indian cinema from the silent era, through the studio period, to state-funded art filmmaking to the contemporary production of Bollywood films as well as the more unconventional multiplex cinema. We will examine narrative conventions, stylistic techniques, and film production and consumption practices in popular Hindi language films from the Bombay film industry as well as commercial and art films in other languages. This outline of different cinematic modes will throw light on the social, political, and economic transformations in the nation-state over the last century.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FILMSTUD 133:
Contemporary Chinese Auteurs (FILMSTUD 333)
New film cultures and movements in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China in the 80s. Key directors including Jia Zhangke, Wu Wenguang, Tsai Ming-liang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Wong Kar-wai, Ann Hui. Topics include national cinema in the age of globalization, the evolving parameters of art cinema, and authorship.
Last offered: Spring 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 133B:
Technology and American Visual Culture (AMSTUD 133)
An exploration of the dynamic relationship between technology and the ways we see and represent the world, with a focus on American visual culture from the 19th century through the present. We study the history of different tools from telescopes and microscopes to digital detectors that have changed and enhanced our visual capabilities; the way technological shifts, such as the introduction of electric lights or train travel, have shaped our visual imagination and aesthetic sensibilities; and how technology has inspired or responded to visual art. Special attention is paid to how different media, such as photography, cinema, and computer screens, translate the visual experience into a representation; the automation of vision; and the intersection of technology with notions of time and space.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 134:
The Art Cinema of India (FILMSTUD 334)
India is the world's largest producer of films, and Bollywood is currently its most visible cinematic product on the festival circuit as well as university curricula. This course, probably the first of its kind in the American academic setting, will focus instead on the various art cinemas of India. From the well-known Satyajit Ray to his important contemporaries, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen, from the social realist New Wave cinemas of the 70s and 80s to contemporary indie films, we will engage with the history of the "parallel cinema" movement. Considering the relationship of Indian art cinema to Third Cinema and to European art cinema will bring attention to transnational networks and exhibition circuits. The course will engage with scholarship on art cinema more broadly to understand how films are categorized as such through narrative, form, audience, auteurism, funding, censorship, and relationship to the nation-state.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FILMSTUD 135:
Around the World in Ten Films (FILMSTUD 335, GLOBAL 135)
This is an introductory-level course about the cinema as a global language. We will undertake a comparative study of select historical and contemporary aspects of international cinema, and explore a range of themes pertaining to the social, cultural, and political diversity of the world. A cross-regional thematic emphasis and inter-textual methods of narrative and aesthetic analysis, will ground our discussion of films from Italy, Japan, United States, India, China, France, Brazil, Nigeria, Russia, Iran, Mexico, and a number of other countries. Particular emphasis will be placed on the multi-cultural character and the regional specificities of the cinema as a "universal language" and an inclusive "relational network."nnThere are no prerequisites for this class. It is open to all students; non-majors welcome.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 145:
Politics and Aesthetics in East European Cinema (FILMSTUD 345)
From 1945 to the mid-80s, emphasizing Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and Yugoslav contexts. The relationship between art and politics; postwar establishment of film industries; and emergence of national film movements such as the Polish school, Czech new wave, and new Yugoslav film. Thematic and aesthetic preoccupations of filmmakers such as Wajda, Jancso, Forman, and Kusturica.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 164A:
Technology and the Visual Imagination (ARTHIST 164A, ARTHIST 364A, FILMSTUD 364A)
An exploration of the dynamic relationship between technology and the ways we see and represent the world. The course examines technologies from the Renaissance through the present day, from telescopes and microscopes to digital detectors, that have changed and enhanced our visual capabilities as well as shaped how we imagine the world. We also consider how these technologies influenced and inspired the work of artists. Special attention is paid to how different technologies such as linear perspective, photography, cinema, and computer screens translate the visual experience into a representation; the automation of vision; and the intersection of technology with conceptions of time and space.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 165A:
Fashion Shows: From Lady Godiva to Lady Gaga (ARTHIST 165A, ARTHIST 365A, FILMSTUD 365A)
The complex and interdependent relationship between fashion and art. Topics include: the ways in which artists have used fashion in different art forms as a means to convey social status, identity, and other attributes of the wearer; the interplay between fashion designers and various art movements, especially in the 20th century; the place of prints, photography, and the Internet in fashion, in particular how different media shape how clothes are seen and perceived. Texts by Thorstein Veblen, Roland Barthes, Dick Hebdige, and other theorists of fashion.
Last offered: Winter 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 165B:
American Style and the Rhetoric of Fashion (AMSTUD 127, ARTHIST 165B)
Focus on the visual culture of fashion, especially in an American context. Topics include: the representation of fashion in different visual media (prints, photographs, films, window displays, and digital images); the relationship of fashion to its historical context and American culture; the interplay between fashion and other modes of discourse, in particular art, but also performance, music, economics; and the use of fashion as an expression of social status, identity, and other attributes of the wearer. Texts by Thorstein Veblen, Roland Barthes, Dick Hebdige, and other theorists of fashion.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 211N:
Childish Enthusiasms and Perishable Manias
This course has a simple premise: Effective scholarship need not suck the joy from the world. College is serious stuff. Serious questions need to be asked in serious fields; serious meanings need to be derived from serious texts. College and graduate school are sites of gravitas; weighty work is expected. But what of levitas -- a lighter, more playful category? Does such a concept have a place at such institutions of higher learning as Stanford? Gravitas and levitas can co-exist; one need not preclude the other. Writers and artists have long sought to incorporate a playful spirit, recognizing virtue in levity. Encountering Times Square in 1922, the British writer G. K. Chesterton reflected, ¿If a child saw these colored lights, he would dance with as much delight as at any other coloured toys; and it is the duty of every poet, and even of every critic, to dance in respectful imitation of the child.¿ What does it mean to do scholarship that respects a child¿s engagement with the world? To retain (or recover) the pleasurable relation to particular objects or habits that we were allowed when younger? Does intellectually credible work depend upon ¿critical distance¿ between the scholar and the object of study? Can we take something seriously without imposing a seriousness that it may not possess (or want)? Do you have to be serious to be serious? This seminar will try to answer some of those questions. We will explore such ¿unserious¿ media as amusement parks, comics, cartoons, musicals, and children¿s books, and encounter modes of critical engagement that stress experience over meaning, and investment over critical distance.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 213:
Theories of Melodrama (FILMSTUD 413)
Commonly derided for being over the top, with films in this mode put down as weepies, tear-jerkers, and women's films, melodrama as a genre and a cinematic mode has been reclaimed by feminist-queer-film scholars as providing a powerful site of ideological struggle and sustained engagement with individual and social subjection and suffering. Melodrama, a transgeneric mode of emotional dramaturgy, centered around body and community, delay and chance, realism and excess, affords radical critiques of discourses of gender, sexuality, race, class, and nation. We will consider melodrama's careful calibration of sensation and affect through its employment of cinematic form (color, music, editing etc.), and sweeping performative gestures. Through an analysis of films from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, by auteurs such as Douglas Sirk, Ritwik Ghatak, Wong Kar-wai, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Pedro Almodovar, among others, we will study global and transnational flows in the adoption of the politics and aesthetics of the melodramatic mode. The seminar is conceived to be interdisciplinary and participants are encouraged to work with texts from disciplines other than film studies as well, including theatre, visual arts, music, dance, literature etc.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FILMSTUD 259:
Game Studies (FILMSTUD 459)
This course aims to introduce students to the emerging, interdisciplinary field of game studies. We will investigate what games (including but not limited to digital games) are, why we play them, and what the functions of this activity might be. The bulk of the course will be devoted specifically to digital games, which we will approach from a variety of perspectives: from historical, cultural, industrial/commercial, media-theoretical, and formal (narratological/ludological) perspectives, among others. Thus, we will seek to understand the contexts in which video games emerged and evolved, the settings in which they have been played, and the discourses and practices that have determined their place in social and cultural life. In addition, we will ask difficult questions about the mediality of digital games: What is the relation of digital to non-digital games? Are they both games in the same sense, or do digital media redefine what games are or can be? How do digital games relate to other (digital as well as non-digital) non-game media, such as film, television, print fiction, or non-game computer applications? Of course, to engage meaningfully with these questions at all will require us to investigate theories of mediality (including inter- and transmediality) more generally. Finally, though, we will be interested in the formal and experiential parameters that define (different types of) digital games in particular. What does it feel like to play (various) digital games? What are the relations between storytelling and the activity of gameplaying in them? What is the relation between these aspects and the underlying mechanics of digital games, as embodied in hardware and software? What is the role of the human body? Because these questions can only be approached on the basis of personal experience, students will be expected to spend some time playing digital games and reflecting critically on their gameplay.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 264B:
Starstuff: Space and the American Imagination (AMSTUD 143X, ARTHIST 264B)
Course on the history of twentieth and twenty-first century American images of space and how they shape conceptions of the universe. Covers representations made by scientists and artists, as well as scientific fiction films, TV, and other forms of popular visual culture. Topics will include the importance of aesthetics to understandings of the cosmos; the influence of media and technology on representations; the social, political, and historical context of the images; and the ways representations of space influence notions of American national identity and of cosmic citizenship.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FILMSTUD 290:
Movies and Methods: The Judy Garland Seminar (FILMSTUD 490)
Judy Garland, an icon of American popular culture, was one of the most accomplished performers of her time. Both a mainstream star and a gay cult figure, Garland's career straddled film, recording, live performance and television. From childhood, her life was lived in the public eye and her personal travails were as well known as the characters she incarnated on screen - in fact, her biography informs some of her later film roles. Her seeming naturalism was a function of fierce discipline. Garland's work in this period occurs primarily in two genres: musical comedy and melodrama (and what we might call the melodramatic musical). Some of her best films were directed by two of the foremost studio directors - Vincente Minnelli and George Cukor - intersections of star, genre, and director will inform the seminar, as will explorations of Garland's work on television and the concert stage. Acting and performance have been prominent in cinema throughout the medium's history, but have received relatively little attention in film studies. A course dedicated to Judy Garland proposes, first, that we attend to the centrality of performance in film, and, further, that the work Garland produced across three decades demonstrates not only a coherence and consistency, but also a variety and richness, that merits close examination. The seminar would be useful to students in American Studies, Art History, Film Studies, Music Studies, Theater and Performance Studies, as well as Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FRENCH 12Q:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Middle Ages and Renaissance (DLCL 12Q, HUMCORE 12Q, ILAC 12Q)
This three-quarter sequence asks big questions of major texts in the European and American tradition. What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? The second quarter focuses on the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, Europe's re-acquaintance with classical antiquity and its first contacts with the New World. Authors include Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Cervantes, and Milton. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the European track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study European history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future. Students who take HUMCORE 11 and HUMCORE 12Q will have preferential admission to HUMCORE 13Q (a WR2 seminar).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FRENCH 75N:
Narrative Medicine and Near-Death Experiences (ITALIAN 75N)
Even if many of us don't fully believe in an afterlife, we remain fascinated by visions of it. This course focuses on Near-Death Experiences and the stories around them, investigating them from the many perspectives pertinent to the growing field of narrative medicine: medical, neurological, cognitive, psychological, sociological, literary, and filmic. The goal is not to understand whether the stories are veridical but what they do for us, as individuals, and as a culture, and in particular how they seek to reshape the patient-doctor relationship. Materials will span the 20th century and come into the present. Taught in English.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FRENCH 87N:
The New Wave: How The French Reinvented Cinema
Focus on the French New Wave's cinematic revolution of 1959-1962. In a few years, the Nouvelle Vague delivered landmark works such as Truffaut's 400 Blows, Godard's Breathless, Chabrol's Les Cousins or Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour, and changed forever the way we make and think about movies. Why did these films look so radically fresh? What do they say about France's youth culture in the early 60s? How is the author's theory behind them still influencing us today? Focus is on cultural history, aesthetic analysis, interpretation of narrative, sound and visual forms. Taught in English. NOTE: Class meets Tuesday/Thursday 12:00-1:20pm; film screenings Monday 6:00-8:50pm in room 540-108
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FRENCH 110:
French Painting from Watteau to Monet (ARTHIST 110, ARTHIST 310, FRENCH 310)
This course offers a survey of painting in France from 1700 to around 1900. It introduces major artists, artworks, and the concepts used by contemporary observers and later art historians to make sense of this extraordinarily rich period. Overarching themes discussed in the class will include the dueling legacies of coloristic virtuosity and classical formalism, new ways of representing visual perception, the opposing artistic effects of absorption and theatricality, the rise and fall of official arts institutions, and the participation of artists and artworks in political upheaval and social change. The course ends with an interrogation of the concept of modernity and its emergence out of dialogue and conflict with artists of the past. Students will learn and practice formal analysis of paintings, as well as interpretations stressing historical context.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FRENCH 120:
Coffee and Cigarettes: The Making of French Intellectual Culture
Examines a quintessential French figure "l'intellectuel" from a long-term historical perspective. We will observe how this figure was shaped over time by such other cultural types as the writer, the artist, the historian, the philosopher, and the moralist. Proceeding in counter-chronological order, from the late 20th to the 16th century, we will read a collection of classic French works. As this course is a gateway for French studies, special emphasis will be placed on oral proficiency. Taught in French; readings in French.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FRENCH 129:
Camus (COMPLIT 229B, CSRE 129, HISTORY 235F)
"The Don Draper of Existentialism" for Adam Gopnik, "the ideal husband of contemporary letters" for Susan Sontag, and "the admirable conjunction of a man, of an action, and of a work" for Sartre, Camus embodies the very French figure of the "intellectuel engagé," or public intellectual. From his birth in 1913 into a poor family in Algeria to the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957, from Saint Germain-des-Prés to his predilection for the mediterranean culture, Camus captured the quest for universalism, for the politics of justice, and engaged in the great ethical battles of his time, from the fight against nazism and communism, from questioning colonial rules to the haunting Algerian War, and his complex "silence" over the war. Camus the Algerian, Camus the moralist, Camus the Resistant: through readings and films, we will explore his multiple, long-lasting legacies. Readings from Albert Camus, Kamel Daoud, Mouloud Feraoun, Alice Kaplan, Orhan Pamuk, A.B. Yehoshua, Assia Djebar, Jean-Paul Sartre, Yasmina Khadra. Movies include "The Stranger," and "Far from Men." This course is a gateway for French Studies, with special emphasis on oral proficiency. Taught in French.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FRENCH 130:
Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance French Literature
Gender, race and religion are at the heart of our contemporary political and societal debates. How to build a nation and how to live together within it were also the key questions that medieval and Renaissance authors asked. Throughout this introductory course, we will study how canonical literary works from the 11th to the 16th century represented the conflicting debates of their times around these notions, from the Crusades to the Wars of Religion, from courtly love to Petrarchism, and from the figure of the Wandering Knight to the one of the Sea Farer. Were women inferior to men because their bodies were colder? What does a Christian superhero look like? Is Man at the center of God¿s creation? Are Catholics cannibals, or are Protestants heretics? Can the French language ever be as good as Ancient Greek? Are printed books dangerous? These are some questions that will be addressed in a multi-genre corpus, including works from Pisan, De France, Ronsard, Labé, Rabelais, and Montaigne. Students will gain an acute sense of the main cultural, political, ideological and literary issues of this extended time period, while acquiring some historical perspective on the debates that are central to our 21st century societies. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 124 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FRENCH 131:
Absolutism, Enlightenment, and Revolution in 17th- and 18th-Century France
The literature, culture, and politics of France from Louis XIV to Olympe de Gouges. How this period produced the political and philosophical foundations of modernity. Readings may include Corneille, Molière, Racine, Lafayette, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Beaumarchais, and Gouges. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 124 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FRENCH 132:
Literature, Revolutions, and Changes in 19th- and 20th-Century France
This course will explore several important texts of 19th- and 20th-Century French literature, with the aim of following the evolution of the main literary movements during those centuries of important cultural and social changes. We will study texts related to movements such as Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, Surrealism, the Absurd, the Nouveau Roman in all major genres (prose, poetry, theater, film) and will regularly refer to other arts, such as painting and music. Authors include Chateaubriand, Musset, Balzac, Flaubert, Maupassant, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Apollinaire, Proust, Céline, Radiguet, Ionesco, Robbe-Grillet, Duras, Gary. All readings, discussion, and assignments are in French.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FRENCH 133:
Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean (AFRICAAM 133, AFRICAST 132, COMPLIT 133A, COMPLIT 233A, JEWISHST 143)
This course aims to equip students with an understanding of the cultural, social, and political aspects at play in the literatures of Francophone Africa and the Caribbean of the 20th and 21st century. Our primary readings will be Francophone novels and poetry. We will also read some theoretical texts. The assigned readings will expose students to literature from diverse French-speaking regions of the African/Caribbean world. This course will also serve as a "literary toolbox," with the intention of facilitating an understanding of literary genres, and terms. Students can expect to work on their production of written and spoken French, in addition to reading comprehension. Special guest: Moroccan author Meryem Alaoui. Required readings include: Aime Cesaire, Maryse Condé, Fatou Diome, Dany Laferriere, Leonara Miano, Albert Memmi. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 124 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FRENCH 140:
Paris: Capital of the Modern World (FRENCH 340, HISTORY 230C, URBANST 184)
This course explores how Paris, between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, became the political, cultural, and artistic capital of the modern world. It considers how the city has both shaped and been shaped by the tumultuous events of modern history- class conflict, industrialization, imperialism, war, and occupation. It will also explore why Paris became the major world destination for intellectuals, artists and writers. Sources will include films, paintings, architecture, novels, travel journals, and memoirs. Course taught in English with an optional French section.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FRENCH 154:
Film & Philosophy (COMPLIT 154A, ENGLISH 154F, ITALIAN 154, PHIL 193C, PHIL 293C)
Issues of authenticity, morality, personal identity, and the value of truth explored through film; philosophical investigation of the filmic medium itself. Screenings to include Blade Runner (Scott), Do The Right Thing (Lee), The Seventh Seal (Bergman), Fight Club (Fincher), La Jetée (Marker), Memento (Nolan), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Kaufman). Taught in English.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FRENCH 166:
Food, Text, Music: A Multidisciplinary Lab on the Art of Feasting (FRENCH 266, FRENCH 366, MUSIC 133, MUSIC 333)
Students cook a collection of unfamiliar recipes each week while learning about the cultural milieus in which they originated. The course focuses on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a time of great banquets that brought together chefs, visual artists, poets, musicians, and dancers. Students read late-medieval cookbooks under the guidance of professional chefs, learn songs and poetry with the help of visiting performers, and delve into a burgeoning scholarly literature on food history and sensory experience. We will also study trade routes and food networks, the environmental impact of large-scale banquets, the science of food, and the politics of plenty. This course may count towards the Medieval component of the French major, and corresponds to DLCL 121, a course requirement for the Medieval Studies Minor. Students interested in applying for course must email both professors (mgalvez@stanford.edu, jrodin@stanford.edu) by 20 September with a statement of up to 350 words that includes: (a) reasons for wanting to take the class; (b) relevant background in cooking/medieval studies/etc.; (c) stated commitment to attend all ten course meetings; and (d) any dietary restrictions/preferences.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
FRENCH 175:
CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People (COMPLIT 100, DLCL 100, GERMAN 175, HISTORY 206E, ILAC 175, ITALIAN 175, URBANST 153)
This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FRENCH 181:
Philosophy and Literature (CLASSICS 42, COMPLIT 181, ENGLISH 81, GERMAN 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181)
What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
FRENCH 187:
Sex, Gender, and Violence: French Women Writers Today (FEMGEN 187X, FEMGEN 287X, FEMGEN 387X, FRENCH 287, FRENCH 387)
Long before the 2017 #Metoo campaign, French women writers have explored through powerful fictions and autobiographies the different shades of economic, social, psychological, physical, or sexual violence that is exerted against, but also by and between, women. How does literature - the power of words - address, deconstruct or comfort power dynamics (during sex and between the sexes) that are usually silenced, taboo or unspeakable? Themes explored: sex and gender, sex and power, rape culture, sexual and moral taboos (incest, abortion, pornography, infanticide, lesbianism), the body as social stigma or source of meaning. Special attention given to narrative and descriptive strategies designed to avert, expose, deconstruct or account for specifically feminine experiences (rape, orgasm, pregnancy). Authors include Marie Darrieusecq, Christine Angot, Annie Ernaux, Marie NDiaye, Virginie Despentes, Leila Slimani, Ivan Jablonka along with feminist theory. Taught in French.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FRENCH 192:
Women in French Cinema: 1958- (FEMGEN 192, FILMSTUD 112)
Women as objects and subjects of the voyeuristic gaze inherent to cinema. The myth of the feminine idol in French films in historical and cultural context since the New Wave until now. The mythology of stars as the imaginary vehicle that helped France to change from traditional society to modern, culturally mixed nation. The evolution of female characters, roles, actresses, directors in the film industry. Filmmakers include Vadim, Buñuel, Truffaut, Varda, Chabrol, Colline Serreau, Tonie Marshall. Discussion in English; films in French with English subtitles. 3 units, 4 units or 5 units. Class meets Tuesday/Thursday 1:30-2:50pm; film screenings Monday 6:00-8:30pm. NOTE: FILMSTUD students must take this course for 3 units only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
FRENCH 205:
Songs of Love and War: Gender, Crusade, Politics (FEMGEN 205)
Analysis of medieval love, satirical and Crusade lyrics of the trouabdours. Study of deictic address, corporeal subjectivity, the female voice, love debates, and the body as a figure of political conflict. Course readings include medieval treatises on lyric and modern translations of the troubadour tradition. Works by Ovid, Bernart de Ventadorn, Bertran de Born, La Comtessa de Dia, Thibaut de Champagne, Raimon Vidal, Dante, and Pound. Taught in English. Course includes a lab component for creation of multi-media translation projects: trobar. stanford.edu.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FRENCH 219:
The Renaissance Body in French Literature and Medicine (FRENCH 319)
If the Renaissance is famous for discovering unknown continents and ancient texts the body too was a new territory of conquest. How did literature respond to the rise of an anatomical gaze in the arts and in medicine and how did it stage the aesthetic religious philosophical and moral issues related to such a promotion or deconstruction of the body? Does literature aim at representing the body or does it use it instead as a ubiquitous signifier for intellectual emotional and political ideas? The locus of desire, pleasure and disease, the body also functioned as a reminder of human mortality and was caught in the web of gender issues, religious controversies and new norms of behavior. Texts from prose fiction (Rabelais) poetry (Scève Ronsard Labé D'Aubigné) essays (Montaigne) and emblem literature. Extra documents include music scores tapestries paintings philosophical and anatomical plates from medical treatises. Taught in English; readings in French and English.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FRENCH 236:
Casablanca - Algiers - Tunis : Cities on the Edge (AFRICAAM 236B, CSRE 140S, FRENCH 336, HISTORY 245C, URBANST 140F)
Casablanca, Algiers and Tunis embody three territories, real and imaginary, which never cease to challenge the preconceptions of travelers setting sight on their shores. In this class, we will explore the myriad ways in which these cities of North Africa, on the edge of Europe and of Africa, have been narrated in literature, cinema, and popular culture. We will look at the historical development shaping their respective architecture and why they became the three major urban centers in North Africa. Home to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, they are an ebullient laboratory of social, political, religious, and cultural issues, global and local, between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. We will look at mass images of these cities, from films to maps, novels to photographs, sketching a new vision of these magnets as places where power, social rituals, legacies of the Ottoman and French colonial past, and the influence of the global economy collude and collide. Special focus on class, gender, and race. Open to both undergrad and grad students!
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FRENCH 237A:
Nationhood and Nationalism in France: Modern French history through film and fiction (FRENCH 337, HISTORY 237J, HISTORY 337J)
Europe is seeing a rise in nationalist politics, fueled by fear of economic instability and immigration. In France, Marine Le Pen's far-right populist party Rassemblement National (until June 2018 - the Front National) has dominated political debates, insisting on preserving French national sovereignty. But what is a nation? What does it mean to be French? Who is included and who is excluded? In this course we will explore the construction of the idea of France in the face of revolution, the world wars and the Holocaust, and the violent end of colonialism. By looking at these critical historical moments, we will also gain a firmer grasp of contemporary problems surrounding nationhood in France and around the world. Sources will include films, novels, pamphlets, and political speeches. Course taught in English, with an optional French section.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FRENCH 238:
Art and the Market (ARTHIST 238C)
This course examines the relationship between art and the market, from the château-builders of the French Renaissance to avant-garde painters in the nineteenth-century Salon des Refusés. Using examples drawn from France, this course explores the relationship between artists and patrons, the changing status of artists in society, patterns of shifting taste, and the effects of museums on making and collecting art. Students will read a mixture of historical texts about art and artists, fictional works depicting the process of artistic creation, and theoretical analyses of the politics embedded in artworks. They will engage in sustained analysis of individual artworks, as well as the market structures in which such artworks were produced and bought. The course will be taught in English, with the option of readings in French for departmental majors.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FRENCH 239:
The Afterlife of the Middle Ages (FRENCH 339)
Literary works that evoke a medieval past in contrast to a historical present, and critical texts that treat aspects of the medieval or medievalism. How does the concept of medievalism emerge and evolve through the ages? Topics include periodization, philology, critical theory, the study of Gothic architecture, and the use of the term medieval in modern political discourse and postcolonial studies. Authors include Burckhardt, Camille, Chateaubriand, Chrétien de Troyes, Didi-Huberman, Jauss, Michelet, Panofsky, Pound, films by Dreyer and Bergman, and contemporary poetry. Taught in English.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FRENCH 246:
Body over Mind (FRENCH 346, ITALIAN 346)
How does modern fiction, aided by modern philosophy, give the lie to Descartes' famous "I think therefore I am"? And how does writing convey the desire for a different, perhaps stronger, integration of mind and body? Does the body speak a particular truth that we must learn to hear, that the mind is not always connected to? How do modern metaphors for the mind-body connection shape our experience? These questions will be explored via the works of major French and Italian writers and thinkers, including Pirandello, Calvino, Camus, Houellebecq, Sartre, and Agamben.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FRENCH 247:
Islam and the Western Imagination (COMPLIT 147S, CSRE 147S, FRENCH 347, HISTORY 230J)
With fear of Islamic terrorism running high and restrictive immigration policies at home, it is more urgent than ever to understand the complex and changing relations between Islam and the West, the West and Islam. Using France's history and culture as a main study case, along with other Western contexts, this course will look at the long history of Europe's interactions with the Muslim world, as well as the presence of Islam and Muslims in the West, from the 7th century to the present day. Uncovering the long and complex relationship between France and Islam, historical, literary and media sources will help us explore early Christian myths about Islam, the period of European coexistence, European colonialism in North Africa and the Middle East, the place of feminism in Western-Muslim relations, (post)colonial immigration and finally, a post-9/11 world order characterized by new forms of Islamophobia. In the context of the course, students will be exposed to primary sources including audiovisual materials, literature, manifestos, and theory. Readings will be in English (and optional readings in French for students who would prefer to read in French).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FRENCH 249:
The Algerian Wars (CSRE 249, HISTORY 239G, JEWISHST 249)
From Algiers the White to Algiers the Red, Algiers, the Mecca of the Revolutionaries in the words of Amilcar Cabral, this course offers to study the Algerian Wars since the French conquest of Algeria (1830-) to the Algerian civil war of the 1990s. We will revisit the ways in which the war has been narrated in literature and cinema, popular culture, and political discourse. A special focus will be given to the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). The course considers the racial representations of the war in the media, the continuing legacies surrounding the conflict in France, Africa, and the United States, from Che Guevara to the Black Panthers. A key focus will be the transmission of collective memory through transnational lenses, and analyses of commemorative events and movies. nReadings from James Baldwin, Assia Djebar, Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon, Mouloud Feraoun. Movies include "The Battle of Algiers," "Days of Glory," and "Viva Laldjérie." nTaught in English.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
FRENCH 252:
Art and Power: From Royal Spectacle to Revolutionary Ritual (ARTHIST 252A)
From the Palace of Versailles to grand operas to Jacques-Louis David's portraits of revolutionary martyrs, rarely have the arts been so powerfully mobilized by the State as in early modern France. This course examines how the arts were used from Louis XIV to the Revolution in order to broadcast political authority across Europe. We will also consider the resistance to such attempts to elicit shock-and-awe through artistic patronage. By studying music, architecture, garden design, the visual arts, and theater together, students will gain a new perspective on works of art in their political contexts. But we will also examine the libelous pamphlets and satirical cartoons that turned the monarchy¿s grandeur against itself, ending the course with an examination of the new artistic regime of the French Revolution. The course will be taught in English with the option of French readings for departmental majors.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
FRENCH 260A:
Transcultural Perspectives of South-East Asian Music and Arts (MUSIC 260)
This course will explore South-East Asian (SEA) cultures and their influence on modern and contemporary Western art, particularly in France: for instance, Claude Debussy (Gamelan's music), Jacques Charpentier (Karnatak music), Auguste Rodin (Khmer art) and Antonin Artaud (Balinese theater). In the course of these interdisciplinary analyses - focusing particularly on music and dance - we will confront key notions in relation to transculturality: orientalism, appropriation, auto-ethnography, nostalgia and exoticism. We will also consider transculturality as interior to contemporary creation, through the study of contemporary SEA composers. Viewings of sculptures, marionette theater, ballet, opera and cinema will play in integral role. To be eligible for WAYS credit, this course must be taken for 3 units and a letter grade.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
FRENCH 266:
Food, Text, Music: A Multidisciplinary Lab on the Art of Feasting (FRENCH 166, FRENCH 366, MUSIC 133, MUSIC 333)
Students cook a collection of unfamiliar recipes each week while learning about the cultural milieus in which they originated. The course focuses on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a time of great banquets that brought together chefs, visual artists, poets, musicians, and dancers. Students read late-medieval cookbooks under the guidance of professional chefs, learn songs and poetry with the help of visiting performers, and delve into a burgeoning scholarly literature on food history and sensory experience. We will also study trade routes and food networks, the environmental impact of large-scale banquets, the science of food, and the politics of plenty. This course may count towards the Medieval component of the French major, and corresponds to DLCL 121, a course requirement for the Medieval Studies Minor. Students interested in applying for course must email both professors (mgalvez@stanford.edu, jrodin@stanford.edu) by 20 September with a statement of up to 350 words that includes: (a) reasons for wanting to take the class; (b) relevant background in cooking/medieval studies/etc.; (c) stated commitment to attend all ten course meetings; and (d) any dietary restrictions/preferences.
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
FRENCH 287:
Sex, Gender, and Violence: French Women Writers Today (FEMGEN 187X, FEMGEN 287X, FEMGEN 387X, FRENCH 187, FRENCH 387)
Long before the 2017 #Metoo campaign, French women writers have explored through powerful fictions and autobiographies the different shades of economic, social, psychological, physical, or sexual violence that is exerted against, but also by and between, women. How does literature - the power of words - address, deconstruct or comfort power dynamics (during sex and between the sexes) that are usually silenced, taboo or unspeakable? Themes explored: sex and gender, sex and power, rape culture, sexual and moral taboos (incest, abortion, pornography, infanticide, lesbianism), the body as social stigma or source of meaning. Special attention given to narrative and descriptive strategies designed to avert, expose, deconstruct or account for specifically feminine experiences (rape, orgasm, pregnancy). Authors include Marie Darrieusecq, Christine Angot, Annie Ernaux, Marie NDiaye, Virginie Despentes, Leila Slimani, Ivan Jablonka along with feminist theory. Taught in French.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
GERMAN 75N:
Famous Last Words
What would you say if you knew it would be the last thing you would ever say? Who would you want to hear your words? Would you want to inspire somebody? Terrify them? Shout your defiance or your love in their direction?nThis is a course about last words the final utterances left as legacies for the world in the face of revolution, war, betrayal, heartbreak, or that simplest of endings, death. We will look at a wide variety of last words, including last words codified as genres¿quotations, suicide notes, epitaphs, dying declarations, Japanese death poems, confessions, and the like as literary devices (last sentences, envois, punch lines, epilogues), and as forms of social or cultural practice (the making of heroes, idols, and martyrs in religious, political, and popular culture). We will look at fictional last words, real last words, last words spoken by heroes, gods, and ordinary people. And we will end the course, each of us, by writing out our own last words imagining what we each would write, if we had to sum up what mattered most to us, and if we wanted some small selection of signs to stand in, as it has for many of the authors we will read, for our life and the legacy of it.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GERMAN 88:
Germany in 5 Words (GERMAN 101)
This course explores German history, culture and politics by tracing five (largely untranslatable) words and exploring the debates they have engendered in Germany over the past 200 years. This course is intended as preparation for students wishing to spend a quarter at the Bing Overseas Studies campus in Berlin, but is open to everyone. Taught in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
GERMAN 97:
10 Poems That Will Change Your Life
This course is for anyone who has ever been afraid of poetry, anyone who has ever thought that poems are too difficult to understand, a course for anyone who has fallen in love with poetry before, and for anyone who has used a poem to make a difference in someone's life. You will learn how to read, understand, and if you don't already like poetry. We will read poems from different centuries, different kinds of writers, and different media (paper, computer screens, and even DNA); they will be about loss and love and war and loyalty and bacteria. Some of them will be about you. You will develop interpretive skills that come with this range of poetic forms and structures and will learn how to think about what it means for something to be poetic, whether it is a poem, a Leonard Cohen song, a last minute field goal, or a toilet. Can the poems in this class really change your life? (What would that even mean? We'll discuss.) Maybe; maybe not. But they're certainly going to try.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GERMAN 101:
Germany in 5 Words (GERMAN 88)
This course explores German history, culture and politics by tracing five (largely untranslatable) words and exploring the debates they have engendered in Germany over the past 200 years. This course is intended as preparation for students wishing to spend a quarter at the Bing Overseas Studies campus in Berlin, but is open to everyone. Taught in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
GERMAN 131:
What is German Literature?
"What do the words "German" and "Germany" signify, and how have they changed since the first text in German was written down in the 8th century? What has it meant to read and write in German in the Middle Ages, the Early Modern period, 18th century Weimar, the Napoleonic Wars, Nazi Germany, or the GDR? How can ideas, stories, and poetry from the past be made meaningful for our understanding of our present? This course will approach these questions by giving a brief survey of the evolution, forms, genres, and periods of German literature. Students will read and discuss short literary masterpieces from the "Hildebrandslied" to the poetry of Bertolt Brecht. nThe course follows the chronology of German literature. The single sessions will focus on the ideas most characteristic for the period in question: What is "German"?; Courtly Love and Christian Culture; Reformation and Innovation; Enlightenment and Reason; The Notion of the "Classic"; Exploring Emotion; Nationhood and Revolution; The Aesthetics of Modernism; War and Exile; Division and Reunification. Taught in German.nPrerequisite: One year of German language at Stanford or equivalent.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
GERMAN 132:
History and Politics of the Future in Germany, 1900-Present
The twentieth century brought profound changes to Germany, including two World Wars, changing borders, and the division between competing Cold War ideological blocs. At the same time, the necessity to build and reshape Germany also inspired politicians, writers, and filmmakers to think about how society could be made anew. The century especially ushered in a new era for thoughts about the future. Thinkers imagined new technologies, social structures, and political orders as they dreamed about a German future that could be different from its recent past. Furthermore, this period represented a golden age of German science fiction, as authors thought about what the future could and should be.nThis class considers the possibilities that Germans imagined for the future in the face of ambiguous promises of peace and warfare, democracy and totalitarianism, and capitalism and communism. Regardless of whether these hopes, dreams, and fears came to fruition, historical visions of the future illuminate the lives of Germans during the twentieth century.nThis course will use close readings of several types of primary sources, including films, television shows, short stories, political posters, art, and newspaper articles. We will consider what different thinkers anticipated as the possibilities for the development of the country and what they saw as the driving forces of change, such as mechanics and computers, political parties, and social movements. We will discuss which advancements they thought seemed likely and which seemed fantastical. Finally, this class will investigate how the future offered a space for dissident thinkers to articulate their frustrations with state and society.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
GERMAN 133:
Marx, Nietzsche, Freud
We read and discuss selections from works by the key master thinkers who have exerted a lasting influence by debunking long-cherished beliefs. Do these authors uphold or repudiate Enlightenment notions of rationality, autonomy and progress? How do they assess the achievements of civilization? How do their works illuminate the workings of power in social and political contexts? Readings and discussion in German.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GERMAN 175:
CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People (COMPLIT 100, DLCL 100, FRENCH 175, HISTORY 206E, ILAC 175, ITALIAN 175, URBANST 153)
This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
GERMAN 181:
Philosophy and Literature (CLASSICS 42, COMPLIT 181, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181)
What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
GERMAN 222:
Myth and Modernity (COMPLIT 222A, GERMAN 322, JEWISHST 242G, JEWISHST 342)
Masters of German 20th- and 21st-Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English. Note for German Studies grad students: GERMAN 322 will fulfill the grad core requirement since GERMAN 332 is not being offered this year. NOTE: Enrollment requires Professor Eshel's consent. Please contact him directly at eshel@stanford.edu and answer these 2 questions: "Why do you want to take this course?" and "What do you think you can add to the discussion?" Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GLOBAL 30:
Sufism: Past and Present (GLOBAL 230)
Sufism, often defined as `Islamic mysticism,¿ is essential for a deep understanding of the inner dimension of Islamic spirituality. This course offers a survey of the development of Sufism from its formation through the modern period. Students will be introduced to the fundamental ideas, practices, and institutions of Sufism. The course will familiarize students with an introductory understanding of Sufism in its historical context and will challenge students to engage critically with the academic debates on Sufism.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GLOBAL 135:
Around the World in Ten Films (FILMSTUD 135, FILMSTUD 335)
This is an introductory-level course about the cinema as a global language. We will undertake a comparative study of select historical and contemporary aspects of international cinema, and explore a range of themes pertaining to the social, cultural, and political diversity of the world. A cross-regional thematic emphasis and inter-textual methods of narrative and aesthetic analysis, will ground our discussion of films from Italy, Japan, United States, India, China, France, Brazil, Nigeria, Russia, Iran, Mexico, and a number of other countries. Particular emphasis will be placed on the multi-cultural character and the regional specificities of the cinema as a "universal language" and an inclusive "relational network."nnThere are no prerequisites for this class. It is open to all students; non-majors welcome.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GLOBAL 139:
History of Philosophy from Al-Kindi to Averroes (PHIL 101A)
The rise of Islam saw a flourishing of philosophical and scientific activity across Islamic civilizations from Central Asia to Spain. Between the 7th to 13th centuries, many of the major philosophers in the history of philosophy lived in the Muslim world and wrote in Arabic. They saw themselves, just as later philosophers in medieval Europe, as working in part in the same tradition as Plato and Aristotle. This course surveys this important chapter in the history of philosophy, examining the key philosophical problems, analyses, arguments and ideas developed by philosophers such as Al-Kindi, Al-Razi, Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Al-Ghazali and Averroes, as well as their views on the role and aims of philosophy itself. We will look closely at their writings (in English translation) on philosophical topics in mind, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and politics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GLOBAL 145:
Revolutionary Practices: Space and Public Discourse in Iran (CSRE 95I)
The course examines the mediums of public art that have been voices of social change, protest and expressions of community desire in Iran. It will offer a unique glimpse into Iran's contemporary art and visual culture through the investigation of public art practices such as graffiti and street art, as well as older traditions of oral storytelling such as Naghali and Iranian Coffeehouse Painting. Iranian case studies will be expanded in comparison with local and global examples, while students examine the infrastructural conditions of public art, such as civic, public, and private funding, relationships with local communities, and the life of these projects as they move in and out of the artworld. This encompassing view anchors a legacy of Iranian cultural contributions in larger trajectories of art history, contemporary art, and community arts practice. The class format is both lecture and art studio practice. Students will propose either new public art works or research to provoke their own ideas while engaging the ever-changing state of public discourse in these case studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GLOBAL 249A:
The Iranian Cinema: Image and Meaning (COMPLIT 249A)
This course will focus on the analysis of ten Iranian films with the view of placing them in discourse on the semiotics of Iranian art and culture. The course will also look at the influence of a wide array of cinematic traditions from European, American, and Asian masters on Iranian cinema. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GLOBAL 249B:
Iranian Cinema in Diaspora (COMPLIT 249B)
Despite enormous obstacles, immigrant Iranian filmmakers, within a few decades (after the Iranian Revolution), have created a slow but steady stream of films outside Iran. They were originally started by individual spontaneous attempts from different corners of the world and by now we can identify common lines of interest amongst them. There are also major differences between them. These films have never been allowed to be screened inside Iran, and without any support from the global system of production and distribution, as independent and individual attempts, they have enjoyed little attention. Despite all this, Iranian cinema in exile is in no sense any less important than Iranian cinema inside Iran. In this course we will view one such film, made outside Iran, in each class meeting and expect to reach a common consensus in identifying the general patterns within these works and this movement. Questions such as the ones listed below will be addressed in our meetings each week: What changes in aesthetics and point of view of the filmmaker are caused by the change in his or her work environment? Though unwantedly these films are made outside Iran, how related are they to the known (recognized) cinema within Iran? And in fact, to what extent do these films express things that are left unsaid by the cinema within Iran? NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
GLOBAL 249C:
Contemporary Iranian Theater (COMPLIT 249C)
Today, Iranian plays both in traditional and contemporary styles are staged in theater festivals throughout the world and play their role in forming a universal language of theater which combine the heritages from countries in all five continents. Despite many obstacles, some Iranian plays have been translated into English and some prominent Iranian figures are successful stage directors outside Iran. Forty-six years ago when "Theater in Iran" (a monograph on the history of Iranian plays) by Bahram Beyzaie was first published, it put the then contemporary Iranian theater movement "which was altogether westernizing itself blindly" face to face with a new kind of self-awareness. Hence, today's generation of playwrights and stage directors in Iran, all know something of their theatrical heritage. In this course we will spend some class sessions on the history of theater in Iran and some class meetings will be concentrating on contemporary movements and present day playwrights. Given the dearth of visual documents, an attempt will be made to present a picture of Iranian theater to the student. Students are expected to read the recommended available translated plays of the contemporary Iranian playwrights and participate in classroom discussions. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HISTORY 14N:
Making the Middle Ages
Through hands-on engagement with Stanford's diverse collections of medieval artifacts-- from grungy coins to lavish manuscripts-- this course offers an introduction to the cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean world from 400-1400 CE. In addition, the course will explore competing contemporary understandings of the "Middle Ages" and the role of the "medieval" in shaping what it means to be "modern".
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 36S:
Martin Luther's World: Rebellion, Heresy, and Dissent in Sixteenth-Century Europe
Until recently the Protestant Reformation has occupied a privileged position in the history of Western Civilization, and Martin Luther has played the leading role in that story. The Reformation, no less than the Renaissance, encompassed a confluence of ideas, methods, and mentalities. This course uses Luther as a lens to study the history of the sixteenth-century Reformation in its late-medieval context as well as the writing of that history in contemporaneous and later centuries. Priority given to history majors and minors.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 40A:
The Scientific Revolution
(Same as History 140A. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for History 140A.) What do people know and how do they know it? What counts as scientific knowledge? In the 16th and 17th centuries, understanding the nature of knowledge engaged the attention of individuals and institutions including Copernicus, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, the early Royal Society, and less well-known contemporaries. New meanings of observing, collecting, experimenting, and philosophizing, and political, religious, and cultural ramifications in early modern Europe.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 42N:
The Missing Link
This course explores the history of evolutionary science, focusing upon debates surrounding the evolutionary place of human beings in the natural world, by examining the history of the idea of a "missing link," an intermediate form between humans and apes. We will consider famous hoaxes such as the Piltdown Man, and films and stories such as King Kong and Planet of the Apes, as well as serious scientific work such as that of Eugène Dubois, the paleoanthropologist and geologist who discovered Homo erectus (first called Java Man and then Pithecanthropus erectus) and first developed the notion of a missing link. We will take an interest not only in scientific aspects of missing-link theories but in their accompanying political, social and cultural implications. And we'll watch some classic monster films.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 48:
The Egyptians (AFRICAAM 30, CLASSICS 82, HISTORY 148)
Overview of ancient Egyptian pasts, from predynastic times to Greco-Roman rule, roughly 3000 BCE to 30 BCE. Attention to archaeological sites and artifacts; workings of society; and cultural productions, both artistic and literary. Participation in class is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 50A:
Colonial and Revolutionary America
(Same as HISTORY 150A. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 150A.) Survey of the origins of American society and polity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Topics: the migration of Europeans and Africans and the impact on native populations; the emergence of racial slavery and of regional, provincial, Protestant cultures; and the political origins and constitutional consequences of the American Revolution.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 69Q:
American Road Trips (AMSTUD 109Q)
"Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road." --Jack Kerouac, On the Road, 1957. From Jack Kerouac's On the Road to Cheryl Strayed's Wild, this course explores epic road trips of the twentieth century. Travel is a fundamental social and cultural practice through which Americans have constructed ideas about the self, the nation, the past, and the future. The open road, as it is often called, offered excitement, great adventure, and the space for family bonding and memory making. But the footloose and fancy-free nature of travel that Jack Kerouac celebrated was available to some travelers but not to all. Engaging historical and literary texts, film, autobiography, memoir, photography, and music, we will consider the ways that travel and road trips have been represented in American culture. This course examines the following questions: How did men and women experience travel differently? How did the motivations for travel change over time? What role did race, ethnicity, class, relationships, and sexuality play in these trips? Students will work together to plan a road trip of their own which the class will take during the quarter.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 78:
Film and History of Latin American Revolutions and Counterrevolutions (HISTORY 178)
Note: Students who have completed HISTORY 78N or 78Q should not enroll in this course. In this course we will watch and critique films made about Latin America's 20th century revolutions focusing on the Cuban, Chilean and Nicaraguan revolutions. We will analyze the films as both social and political commentaries and as aesthetic and cultural works, alongside archivally-based histories of these revolutions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 85Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East II -- Classic (COMPLIT 32Q, DLCL 32Q, HUMCORE 32Q)
How should we live? This course explores two ethical pathways: mysticism and rationality. They seem to be opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow both at once. We will read works by successful judges, bureaucrats, academics, and lovers written between 700 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about professional success and politics. What would we do differently today? We certainly organize knowledge differently, but do we think about ethics the same way? N.B. This is the second of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
HISTORY 114:
Origins of History in Greece and Rome (CLASSICS 88)
What's the history of `History'? The first ancient historians wrote about commoners and kings, conquest and power - those who had it, those who wanted it, those without it. Their powerful ways of recounting the past still resonate today and can be harnessed to tell new stories. We will look at how ancients like Herodotus, Thucydides, Tacitus, and Livy turned stories about the past into compelling narratives of loss, growth and decline - inventing 'History' as we know it. All readings in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
HISTORY 116N:
Howard Zinn and the Quest for Historical Truth (EDUC 116N)
With more than two million copies in print, Howard Zinn¿s A People's History is a cultural icon. We will use Zinn¿s book to probe how we determine what was true in the past. A People's History will be our point of departure, but our journey will visit a variety of historical trouble spots: debates about whether the US was founded as a Christian nation, Holocaust denial, and the "Birther" controversy of President Obama.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HISTORY 126B:
Protestant Reformation (RELIGST 126)
The emergence of Protestant Christianity in 16th-century Europe. Analysis of writings by evangelical reformers (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Sattler, Hubmeier, Müntzer) and study of reform movements (Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Spiritualist) in their medieval context and as expressions of new and influential visions of Christian belief, life, social order.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
HISTORY 140A:
The Scientific Revolution
What do people know and how do they know it? What counts as scientific knowledge? In the 16th and 17th centuries, understanding the nature of knowledge engaged the attention of individuals and institutions including Copernicus, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, the early Royal Society, and less well-known contemporaries. New meanings of observing, collecting, experimenting, and philosophizing, and political, religious, and cultural ramifications in early modern Europe.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 145B:
Africa in the 20th Century (AFRICAAM 145B)
(Same as HISTORY 45B. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 145B.) The challenges facing Africans from when the continent fell under colonial rule until independence. Case studies of colonialism and its impact on African men and women drawn from West, Central, and Southern Africa. Novels, plays, polemics, and autobiographies written by Africans.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 148:
The Egyptians (AFRICAAM 30, CLASSICS 82, HISTORY 48)
Overview of ancient Egyptian pasts, from predynastic times to Greco-Roman rule, roughly 3000 BCE to 30 BCE. Attention to archaeological sites and artifacts; workings of society; and cultural productions, both artistic and literary. Participation in class is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 150A:
Colonial and Revolutionary America (AMSTUD 150A)
(Same as HISTORY 50A. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for HISTORY 150A.) Survey of the origins of American society and polity in the 17th and 18th centuries. Topics: the migration of Europeans and Africans and the impact on native populations; the emergence of racial slavery and of regional, provincial, Protestant cultures; and the political origins and constitutional consequences of the American Revolution.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 151:
The American West (AMSTUD 124A, ARTHIST 152, ENGLISH 124, POLISCI 124A)
The American West is characterized by frontier mythology, vast distances, marked aridity, and unique political and economic characteristics. This course integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of Western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges. Students examine themes fundamental to understanding the region: time, space, water, peoples, and boom and bust cycles.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 168:
American History in Film Since World War ll
U.S. society, culture, and politics since WW II through feature films. Topics include: McCarthyism and the Cold War; ethnicity and racial identify; changing sex and gender relationships; the civil rights and anti-war movements; and mass media. Films include: The Best Years of Our Lives, Salt of the Earth, On the Waterfront, Raisin in the Sun, Kramer v Kramer, and Falling Down.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 178:
Film and History of Latin American Revolutions and Counterrevolutions (HISTORY 78)
Note: Students who have completed HISTORY 78N or 78Q should not enroll in this course. In this course we will watch and critique films made about Latin America's 20th century revolutions focusing on the Cuban, Chilean and Nicaraguan revolutions. We will analyze the films as both social and political commentaries and as aesthetic and cultural works, alongside archivally-based histories of these revolutions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 194G:
Humanities Core: Technology and Media in Modern Japan
This course considers the political, economic, social, cultural, and artistic effects of the introduction of new technologies and media to modern China and Japan. The methodology will integrate techniques gleaned from the disciplines of history and literary studies. Our cross-discipline exploration will encompass printed books and images, language reform, communication technology, serialized fiction and commercial journalism, propaganda and censorship, cinema, comics, animation and television, gaming, and the internet. Through examination of these topics we will investigate a wide range of issues including nationality, ethnic identity, class, revolution, cultural identification, gender, sexuality, literacy, colonialism, imperialism, consumerism, materialism, and globalism, to name just a few. Throughout the course we will be attentive not only to the ways that new technology and media are represented in cultural materials but also how they are materialized in these products through the acts of adaptation, translation, transliteration, and remediation.nnStudents will survey, collect, and synthesize archival materials, engage in media analysis, and undertake close readings to illuminate narrative strategies and other signifying effects. This work will in part be facilitated by the Massive Multiplayer Humanities pedagogical model, which involves flipped classrooms, faculty curated online archives, and student initiated group work.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HISTORY 200C:
Doing the History of Race and Ethnicity
How does ethnicity and race operate in different time periods, and across different historical, national, and cultural contexts? This course guides students through an historical and cross-cultural exploration of ethnoracial identity formation, racism, ethnopolitics, migration, belonging, and exclusion, using primary and secondary sources to examine how the lived experience of race and ethnicity shapes and is shaped by local, regional, and global dimensions. This course forms part of the "Doing History" series: rigorous undergraduate colloquia that introduce the practice of history within a particular field or thematic area.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 200D:
Doing the History of Science and Technology
The history of science has often been at the crux of key debates in the larger field of history, including debates over objectivity and bias, relativism and the problem of "present-ism." This course explores key questions, methods and debates in the history of science and examines how historians of science have addressed these organizing problems of the historical discipline. This course forms part of the "Doing History" series: rigorous undergraduate colloquia that introduce the practice of history within a particular field or thematic area.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 206E:
CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People (COMPLIT 100, DLCL 100, FRENCH 175, GERMAN 175, ILAC 175, ITALIAN 175, URBANST 153)
This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 230C:
Paris: Capital of the Modern World (FRENCH 140, FRENCH 340, URBANST 184)
This course explores how Paris, between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, became the political, cultural, and artistic capital of the modern world. It considers how the city has both shaped and been shaped by the tumultuous events of modern history- class conflict, industrialization, imperialism, war, and occupation. It will also explore why Paris became the major world destination for intellectuals, artists and writers. Sources will include films, paintings, architecture, novels, travel journals, and memoirs. Course taught in English with an optional French section.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 230J:
Islam and the Western Imagination (COMPLIT 147S, CSRE 147S, FRENCH 247, FRENCH 347)
With fear of Islamic terrorism running high and restrictive immigration policies at home, it is more urgent than ever to understand the complex and changing relations between Islam and the West, the West and Islam. Using France's history and culture as a main study case, along with other Western contexts, this course will look at the long history of Europe's interactions with the Muslim world, as well as the presence of Islam and Muslims in the West, from the 7th century to the present day. Uncovering the long and complex relationship between France and Islam, historical, literary and media sources will help us explore early Christian myths about Islam, the period of European coexistence, European colonialism in North Africa and the Middle East, the place of feminism in Western-Muslim relations, (post)colonial immigration and finally, a post-9/11 world order characterized by new forms of Islamophobia. In the context of the course, students will be exposed to primary sources including audiovisual materials, literature, manifestos, and theory. Readings will be in English (and optional readings in French for students who would prefer to read in French).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 231:
Leonardo's World: Science, Technology, and Art (ARTHIST 231, ARTHIST 431, HISTORY 331, ITALIAN 231, ITALIAN 331)
Leonardo da Vinci is emblematic of creativity and innovation. His art is iconic, his inventions legendary. His understanding of nature, the human body, and machines made him a scientist and engineer as well as an artist. This class explores the historical Leonardo, exploring his interests and accomplishments as a product of the society of Renaissance Italy. Why did this world produce a Leonardo? Students will contribute to a library exhibit for the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death in May 2019.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 232A:
Power, Art, and Knowledge in Renaissance Italy (HISTORY 332A)
(History 232A is an undergraduate course offered for 5 units; History 332A is a graduate course offered for 4-5 units.) Provides a fundamental understanding of the cultural and political imagination of the Italian Renaissance, with particular emphasis on Florence between 1300 and 1600 CE. Topics include political and social upheavals, radical shifts in religious practice and devotion, the commercial revolution in trade and banking, the rediscovery of classical philosophy and style, and the flowering of the literary and visual arts.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 232E:
Crooks, Quacks, and Courtesans: Jacobean City Comedy (ENGLISH 240A, ENGLISH 340A, HISTORY 332E)
We will read a series of plays set in or around early modern London, written by playwrights such as Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, and John Marston. The course will explore the plays¿ hilarious representations of the London underworld, with its confidence tricksters and naive victims, as well as more serious topics such as social mobility and social relations, economic expansion, disease transmission, and the built environment. Plays studied will include: The Alchemist, Epicene, The Roaring Girl, A Chaste Maid In Cheapside, The Dutch Courtesan.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HISTORY 235F:
Camus (COMPLIT 229B, CSRE 129, FRENCH 129)
"The Don Draper of Existentialism" for Adam Gopnik, "the ideal husband of contemporary letters" for Susan Sontag, and "the admirable conjunction of a man, of an action, and of a work" for Sartre, Camus embodies the very French figure of the "intellectuel engagé," or public intellectual. From his birth in 1913 into a poor family in Algeria to the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957, from Saint Germain-des-Prés to his predilection for the mediterranean culture, Camus captured the quest for universalism, for the politics of justice, and engaged in the great ethical battles of his time, from the fight against nazism and communism, from questioning colonial rules to the haunting Algerian War, and his complex "silence" over the war. Camus the Algerian, Camus the moralist, Camus the Resistant: through readings and films, we will explore his multiple, long-lasting legacies. Readings from Albert Camus, Kamel Daoud, Mouloud Feraoun, Alice Kaplan, Orhan Pamuk, A.B. Yehoshua, Assia Djebar, Jean-Paul Sartre, Yasmina Khadra. Movies include "The Stranger," and "Far from Men." This course is a gateway for French Studies, with special emphasis on oral proficiency. Taught in French.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 237J:
Nationhood and Nationalism in France: Modern French history through film and fiction (FRENCH 237A, FRENCH 337, HISTORY 337J)
Europe is seeing a rise in nationalist politics, fueled by fear of economic instability and immigration. In France, Marine Le Pen's far-right populist party Rassemblement National (until June 2018 - the Front National) has dominated political debates, insisting on preserving French national sovereignty. But what is a nation? What does it mean to be French? Who is included and who is excluded? In this course we will explore the construction of the idea of France in the face of revolution, the world wars and the Holocaust, and the violent end of colonialism. By looking at these critical historical moments, we will also gain a firmer grasp of contemporary problems surrounding nationhood in France and around the world. Sources will include films, novels, pamphlets, and political speeches. Course taught in English, with an optional French section.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 238C:
Mapping the Grand Tour: Digital Methods for Historical Data (CLASSICS 115, ENGLISH 115, ITALIAN 115)
Classical Italy attracted thousands of travelers throughout the 1700s. Referring to their journey as the "Grand Tour," travelers pursued intellectual passions, promoted careers, and satisfied wanderlust, all while collecting antiquities to fill museums and estates back home. What can digital approaches tell us about who traveled, where and why? We will read travel accounts; experiment with parsing; and visualize historical data. Final projects to form credited contributions to the Grand Tour Project, a cutting-edge digital platform. No prior experience necessary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 239G:
The Algerian Wars (CSRE 249, FRENCH 249, JEWISHST 249)
From Algiers the White to Algiers the Red, Algiers, the Mecca of the Revolutionaries in the words of Amilcar Cabral, this course offers to study the Algerian Wars since the French conquest of Algeria (1830-) to the Algerian civil war of the 1990s. We will revisit the ways in which the war has been narrated in literature and cinema, popular culture, and political discourse. A special focus will be given to the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). The course considers the racial representations of the war in the media, the continuing legacies surrounding the conflict in France, Africa, and the United States, from Che Guevara to the Black Panthers. A key focus will be the transmission of collective memory through transnational lenses, and analyses of commemorative events and movies. nReadings from James Baldwin, Assia Djebar, Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon, Mouloud Feraoun. Movies include "The Battle of Algiers," "Days of Glory," and "Viva Laldjérie." nTaught in English.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 245C:
Casablanca - Algiers - Tunis : Cities on the Edge (AFRICAAM 236B, CSRE 140S, FRENCH 236, FRENCH 336, URBANST 140F)
Casablanca, Algiers and Tunis embody three territories, real and imaginary, which never cease to challenge the preconceptions of travelers setting sight on their shores. In this class, we will explore the myriad ways in which these cities of North Africa, on the edge of Europe and of Africa, have been narrated in literature, cinema, and popular culture. We will look at the historical development shaping their respective architecture and why they became the three major urban centers in North Africa. Home to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, they are an ebullient laboratory of social, political, religious, and cultural issues, global and local, between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. We will look at mass images of these cities, from films to maps, novels to photographs, sketching a new vision of these magnets as places where power, social rituals, legacies of the Ottoman and French colonial past, and the influence of the global economy collude and collide. Special focus on class, gender, and race. Open to both undergrad and grad students!
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 248:
Religion, Radicalization and Media in Africa since 1945 (AFRICAST 248, AFRICAST 348, HISTORY 348, RELIGST 230X, RELIGST 330X)
What are the paths to religious radicalization, and what role have media- new and old- played in these conversion journeys? We examine how Pentecostal Christians and Reformist Muslims in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ethiopia have used multiple media forms- newspapers, cell phones, TV, radio, and the internet- to gain new converts, contest the authority of colonial and post-colonial states, construct transnational communities, and position themselves as key political players.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HISTORY 252:
Originalism and the American Constitution: History and Interpretation (HISTORY 352)
Except for the Bible no text has been the subject of as much modern interpretive scrutiny as the United States Constitution. This course explores both the historical dimensions of its creation as well as the meaning such knowledge should bring to bear on its subsequent interpretation. In light of the modern obsession with the document's "original meaning," this course will explore the intersections of history, law, and textual meaning to probe what an "original" interpretation of the Constitution looks like.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HISTORY 254:
Popular Culture and American Nature
Despite John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Rachel Carson, it is arguable that the Disney studios have more to do with molding popular attitudes toward the natural world than politicians, ecologists, and activists. Disney as the central figure in the 20th-century American creation of nature. How Disney, the products of his studio, and other primary and secondary texts see environmentalism, science, popular culture, and their interrelationships.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
HPS 60:
Introduction to Philosophy of Science (PHIL 60)
This course introduces students to tools for the philosophical analysis of science. We will cover issues in observation, experiment, and reasoning, questions about the aims of science, scientific change, and the relations between science and values.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
HUMBIO 162L:
The Literature of Psychosis (ANTHRO 82P, PSYC 82, PSYC 282)
One of the great gifts of literature is its ability to give us insight into the internal worlds of others. This is particularly true of that state clinicians call "psychosis." But psychosis is a complex concept. It can be terrifying and devastating for patients and families, and yet shares characteristics with other, less pathological states, such as mysticism and creativity. How then can we begin to make sense of it? In this course, we will examine the first-hand experience of psychosis. We will approach it from multiple perspectives, including clinical descriptions, works of art, and texts by writers ranging from Shakespeare, to the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, to patients attempting to describe their experience. This class is not only for students thinking of careers in medicine, psychology or anthropology, but also readers and writers interested exploring extraordinary texts. There are no prerequisites necessary; all that is needed is a love of language and a curiosity about the secrets of other minds.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
HUMBIO 167:
The Art of Vision
This course is about eyes and art. We explore how eyes are built, how they process visual information, and how they are affected by disease. And we explore how fine art and famous artists (from all eras, ancient to modern) have depended upon vision, both normal and abnormal. There are short diversions into animal eyes and the role of vision in music, literature, and sports. Prerequisite: HumBio 4A or BIO 84 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-A-II
HUMBIO 177:
Disability Literature (ENGLISH 108)
This course explores literary and filmic narratives about disability in the Global South. Authors including Edwidge Danticat, Bapsi Sidhwa, and Ricardo Padilla highlight the unique aesthetic potential of what Michael Davidson calls the defamiliar body and Ato Quayson describes as aesthetic nervousness. While engaging universal issues of disability stigma, they also emphasize the specific geopolitics of disability how people in the Global South face greater rates of impairment based on unequal exposure to embodied risk. The course particularly welcomes students with interests in fields of medicine, policy, or public health.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
HUMCORE 11:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, The Ancient World (CLASSICS 37, DLCL 11)
This course will journey through ancient literature from Homer to St. Augustine; it will introduce participants to some of its fascinating features and big ideas; and it will reflect on questions such as: What is a good life, a good society? Who is in and who is out and why? What is the meaning of honor, and should it be embraced or feared? Where does human subjectivity fit into a world of matter, cause and effect? When is rebellion justified? What happens when a way of life or thought is upended? Do we have any duties to the past? N.B. This is the first of three courses in the European track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study European history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future. Students who take HUMCORE 11 and HUMCORE 12Q will have preferential admission to HUMCORE 13Q (a WR2 seminar).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HUMCORE 12:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Middle Ages and Renaissance (DLCL 12, ENGLISH 112A)
This three-quarter sequence asks big questions of major texts in the European and American tradition. What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? The second quarter focuses on the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, Europe's re-acquaintance with classical antiquity and its first contacts with the New World. Authors include Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Cervantes, and Milton.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HUMCORE 12Q:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Middle Ages and Renaissance (DLCL 12Q, FRENCH 12Q, ILAC 12Q)
This three-quarter sequence asks big questions of major texts in the European and American tradition. What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? The second quarter focuses on the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, Europe's re-acquaintance with classical antiquity and its first contacts with the New World. Authors include Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Cervantes, and Milton. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the European track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study European history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future. Students who take HUMCORE 11 and HUMCORE 12Q will have preferential admission to HUMCORE 13Q (a WR2 seminar).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HUMCORE 21Q:
Humanities Core: Love and Betrayal in Asia (CHINA 21Q, JAPAN 21Q, KOREA 21Q)
Why are lovers in storybooks East and West always star-crossed? Why do love and death seem to go together? For every Romeo and Juliet, there are dozens of doomed lovers in the Asian literary repertoires, from Genji's string of embittered mistresses, to the Butterfly lovers in early modern China, to the voices of desire in Koryo love songs, to the devoted adolescent cousins in Dream of the Red Chamber, to the media stars of Korean romantic drama, now wildly popular throughout Asia. In this course, we explore how the love story has evolved over centuries of East Asian history, asking along the way what we can learn about Chinese, Japanese, and Korean views of family and community, gender and sexuality, truth and deception, trust and betrayal, ritual and emotion, and freedom and solidarity from canonical and non-canonical works in East Asian literatures. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HUMCORE 22:
Humanities Core: Everybody Eats: The Language, Culture, and Ethics of Food in East Asia (JAPAN 118, KOREA 118)
Many of us have grown up eating "Asian" at home, with friends, on special occasions, or even without full awareness that Asian is what we were eating. This course situates the three major culinary traditions of East Asia--China, Japan, and Korea--in the histories and civilizations of the region, using food as an introduction to their rich repertoires of literature, art, language, philosophy, religion, and culture. It also situates these seemingly timeless gastronomies within local and global flows, social change, and ethical frameworks. Specifically, we will explore the traditional elements of Korean court food, and the transformation of this cuisine as a consequence of the Korean War and South Korea¿s subsequent globalizing economy; the intersection of traditional Japanese food with past and contemporary identities; and the evolution of Chinese cuisine that accompanies shifting attitudes about the environment, health, and well-being. Questions we will ask ourselves during the quarter include, what is "Asian" about Asian cuisine? How has the language of food changed? Is eating, and talking about eating, a gendered experience? How have changing views of the self and community shifted the conversation around the ethics and ecology of meat consumption?
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
HUMCORE 22Q:
Humanities Core: How to be Modern in East Asia (CHINA 22Q, COMPLIT 22Q, JAPAN 22Q)
Modern East Asia was almost continuously convulsed by war and revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. But the everyday experience of modernity was structured more profoundly by the widening gulf between the country and the city, economically, politically, and culturally. This course examines literary and cinematic works from China and Japan that respond to and reflect on the city/country divide, framing it against issues of class, gender, national identity, and ethnicity. It also explores changing ideas about home/hometown, native soil, the folk, roots, migration, enlightenment, civilization, progress, modernization, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and sustainability. All materials are in English. N.B. This is the third of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
HUMCORE 31Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East I -- Ancient (COMPLIT 31Q, DLCL 31Q)
This course tells the story of the cradle of civilization. We will start from the earliest human stories, and follow the path from Gligamesh to the Quran via Babylon, the Hebrew Bible, and ancient philosophy. We will read letters, myths, and religious texts in order to pose questions about how how different we are we now in Silicon Valley. What are our traditions? Our faiths? Our foundational stories, or myths? Should we connect ourselves in deep ways to the most ancient past of civilization, or seek to distance ourselves from those origins? N.B. This is the first of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
HUMCORE 32Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East II -- Classic (COMPLIT 32Q, DLCL 32Q, HISTORY 85Q)
How should we live? This course explores two ethical pathways: mysticism and rationality. They seem to be opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow both at once. We will read works by successful judges, bureaucrats, academics, and lovers written between 700 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about professional success and politics. What would we do differently today? We certainly organize knowledge differently, but do we think about ethics the same way? N.B. This is the second of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
HUMCORE 33Q:
Humanities Core: Middle East III -- Future (COMPLIT 33Q, DLCL 33Q)
How do we face the future? What resources do we have? Which power structures hold us back and which empower us? What are our identities here at college on the far Western edge of the Western world? In 1850s Lebabnon, Abu Faris Shidyaq faced all these same questions except for the last of course though he did face a version of even that question, one proper to a mid-19th c. Christian magazine editor. In HumCore Middle East III - Future, we engage with global claims about identity culture and politics. Ganzeer's graphic novel speaks to California as much as to Egypt; Ataturk's speeches are about power and identity just like Donald Trump's. Whether in Turkish novels or Arabic poetry, the people we engage in this course are looking to their pasts and futures, just like us. N.B. This is the third of three courses in the Middle Eastern track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study Middle Eastern history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ILAC 12Q:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Middle Ages and Renaissance (DLCL 12Q, FRENCH 12Q, HUMCORE 12Q)
This three-quarter sequence asks big questions of major texts in the European and American tradition. What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? The second quarter focuses on the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, Europe's re-acquaintance with classical antiquity and its first contacts with the New World. Authors include Dante, Shakespeare, Machiavelli, Cervantes, and Milton. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the European track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study European history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future. Students who take HUMCORE 11 and HUMCORE 12Q will have preferential admission to HUMCORE 13Q (a WR2 seminar).
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ILAC 111Q:
Texts and Contexts: Spanish/English Literary Translation Workshop (DLCL 111Q)
This course introduces students to the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to translate literary texts from Spanish to English and English to Spanish. Students will workshop and revise a translation project throughout the quarter. Topics may include comparative syntaxes, morphologies, and semantic systems; register and tone; audience; the role of translation in the development of languages and cultures; and the ideological and socio-cultural forces that shape translations.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ILAC 113Q:
Borges and Translation (DLCL 113Q)
Borges's creative process and practice as seen through the lens of translation. How do Borges's texts articulate the relationships between reading, writing, and translation? Topics include authorship, fidelity, irreverence, and innovation. Readings will draw on Borges's short stories, translations, and essays. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: 100-level course in Spanish or permission of instructor.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ILAC 116:
Approaches to Spanish and Spanish American Literature
Short stories, poetry, and theater. What analytical tools do the "grammars" of different genres call for? What contact zones exist between these genres? How have ideologies, the power of patronage, and shifting poetics shaped their production over time? Authors may include Arrabal, Borges, Cortázar, Cernuda, García Márquez, Lorca, Neruda, Rivas. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: 100-level course in Spanish or permission of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ILAC 130:
Introduction to Iberia: Cultural Perspectives
The purpose of this course is to study major figures and historical trends in modern Iberia against the background of the linguistic plurality and cultural complexity of the Iberian world. We will cover the period from the loss of the Spanish empire, through the civil wars and dictatorships to the end of the Portuguese Estado Novo and the monarchic restoration in Spain. Particular attention will be given to the Peninsula's difficult negotiation of its cultural and national diversity, with an emphasis on current events. This course is designed to help prepare students for their participation in the Stanford overseas study program in Spain. Taught in Spanish.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ILAC 131:
Introduction to Latin America: Cultural Perspectives
Part of the Gateways to the World program, this is an introductory course for all things Latin American: culture, history, literature, and current events. By combining lecture and seminar formats, the class prepares you for all subsequent research on, and learning about, the region. Comparative discussion of independence movements in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Andean Region, Brazil, and the Southern Cone. Other topics vary yearly, including: representations of ethnicity and class, the Cold War, popular culture, as well as major thinkers and writers. Open to all. Recommended for students who want to study abroad in Santiago, Chile. Required for majors in Spanish or Iberian and Latin American Cultures (ILAC). In Spanish.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ILAC 136:
Modern Iberian Literatures
1800 to the mid 20th century. Topics include: romanticism; realism and its variants; the turn of the century; modernism and the avant garde; the Civil War; and the first half of the 20th century. Authors may include Mariano Jose de Larra, Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, Rosalia de Castro, Benito Perez Galdos, Jacint Verdaguer, Eca de Queiros, Miguel de Unamuno, Ramon de Valle-Inclan, Antonio Machado, and Federico García Lorca. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisites: SPANLANG 13 or equivalent.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ILAC 140:
Migration in 21st Century Latin American Film (CHILATST 140)
Focus on how images and narratives of migration are depicted in recent Latin American film. It compares migration as it takes place within Latin America to migration from Latin America to Europe and to the U.S. We will analyze these films, and their making, in the global context of an ever-growing tension between "inside" and "outside"; we consider how these films represent or explore precariousness and exclusion; visibility and invisibility; racial and gender dynamics; national and social boundaries; new subjectivities and cultural practices. Films include: Bolivia, Copacabana, La teta asustada, Norteado, Sin nombre, Migración, Ulises, among others. Films in Spanish, with English subtitles. Discussions and assignments in Spanish.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ILAC 145:
Poets, Journalists and Collectors: Latin American Modernismo
Discusses the different artistic avatars exercised by Latin American modernistas at the turn of the 19th Century in the context of growing capitalism, technological innovation and social transformation. We focus on how modernistas as poets, journalists and collectors explored and transgressed the limits of the individual and his/her situation. We consider topics like cosmopolitanism, dandysm, autonomy of art, and the aesthetic cultivation of the self. Authors include: Delmira Agustini, Rubén Darío, Julián del Casal, Leopoldo Lugones, José Martí, Manuel Gutierrez Nájera, José Enrique Rodó, José Asunción Silva, and Abraham Valdelomar. Spanish proficiency required.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ILAC 149:
The Laboring of Diaspora & Border Literary Cultures (COMPLIT 149, CSRE 149)
Focus is given to emergent theories of culture and on comparative literary and cultural studies. How do we treat culture as a social force? How do we go about reading the presence of social contexts within cultural texts? How do ethno-racial writers re-imagine the nation as a site with many "cognitive maps" in which the nation-state is not congruent with cultural identity? How do diaspora and border narratives/texts strive for comparative theoretical scope while remaining rooted in specific local histories. Note: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ILAC 157:
Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Literatures
From roughly 1000 to 1700 CE. A survey of significant authors and works of early Iberian literatures, focusing on fictional/historical prose and poetry. Topics include lyric poetry and performance, the rise of European empire, Islam in the West, the rise of the novel, early European accounts of Africa and the Americas. Authors may include: Andalusi lyric poets, Llull, the Archpriest of Hita, Zurara, March, Rojas, Vaz de Caminha, Cabeza de Vaca, Sá de Miranda, Monte(ay)or, Teresa of Ávila, Camões, Mendes Pinto, Góngora, Sóror Violante do Céu, Sor Juana, Calderón, and Cervantes. Taught in Spanish.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ILAC 159:
Don Quijote
Focus is on a close reading of Miguel de Cervantes's prose masterpiece. Topics include: the rise of the novel, problems of authorship and meaning, modes of reading, the status of Muslim and Jewish converts in early modern Spain, the rise of capitalism, masochistic desire. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisites: SPANLANG 13 or equivalent.
Last offered: Summer 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ILAC 161:
Modern Latin American Literature
From independence to the present. A survey of significant authors and works of Hispanic and Brazilian Portuguese literatures, focusing on fictional prose and poetry. Topics include romantic allegories of the nation; modernism and postmodernism; avant-garde poetry; regionalism versus cosmopolitanism; indigenous and indigenist literature; magical realism and the literature of the boom; Afro-Hispanic literature; and testimonial narrative. Authors may include: Bolívar, Bello, Gómez de Avellaneda, Isaacs, Sarmiento, Machado de Assis, Darío, Martí, Agustini, Vallejo, Huidobro, Borges, Cortázar, Neruda, Guillon, Rulfo, Ramos, García Marquez, Lispector, and Bolaño. Taught in Spanish.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ILAC 175:
CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People (COMPLIT 100, DLCL 100, FRENCH 175, GERMAN 175, HISTORY 206E, ITALIAN 175, URBANST 153)
This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ILAC 193:
The Cinema of Pedro Almodovar
Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most recognizable auteur directors in the world today. His films express a hybrid and eclectic visual style and the blurring of frontiers between mass and high culture. Special attention is paid to questions of sexuality and the centering of usually marginalized characters. This course studies Pedro Almodóvar's development from his directorial debut to the present, from the "shocking" value of the early films to the award-winning mastery of the later ones. Prerequisite: ability to understand spoken Spanish. Readings in English. Midterm and final paper can be in English. Majors should write in Spanish.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ILAC 200E:
War and the Modern Novel
From the turn of the 19th century to well into the 20th century, novelists developed the theme of alienation and the decline of civilization. Along with the fall of centuries-old empires, World War I brought about the collapse of traditional European values and the dissociation of the subject. The aestheticizing of violence and the ensuing insecurity inaugurated the society of totally administered life, based on universal suspicion and pervasive guilt. The seminar will study narrative responses to these developments in some of the foremost authors of the 20th century from several European literatures: Knut Hamsun, Joseph Roth, Ernst Jünger, Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, Curzio Malaparte, Thomas Mann, Mercè Rodoreda, Antonio Lobo Antunes, and Jaume Cabré. Taught in English.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ILAC 241:
Fiction Workshop in Spanish
Spanish and Spanish American short stories approached through narrative theory and craft. Assignments are creative in nature and focus on the formal elements of fiction (e.g. character and plot development, point of view, creating a scene, etc.). Students will write, workshop, and revise an original short story throughout the term. No previous experience with creative writing is required. Readings may include works by Ayala, Bolaño, Borges, Clarín, Cortázar, García Márquez, Piglia, Rodoreda, and others. Enrollment limited.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
ILAC 243:
Latin American Aesthetics
As the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of beauty and artistic taste, aesthetics is, purportedly, universal. The course interrogates its conspicuous omission of Latin American theorization and cultural production. Three thematic axes are vanguardia, colonialidad, and populismo; a central concern is aesthetic responses to precariousness. Argentine, Brazilian, Chilean, Colombian, and Cuban essayism and visual arts from the mid 20th century to the present, notably origenismo, neo-baroque, and indigenismo. In collaboration with a cognate course at UC Berkeley. Taught in Spanish.nNOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ILAC 263:
Visions of the Andes
Themes like "people," "revolt," "community," "utopia" and "landscape" are central to 20th century Andean narrative and its accompanying critical apparatus. The course reviews major works of Andean literature to reconsider the aesthetic and intellectual legacy of modernity and modernization in the region. We discuss changes in recent literature and film. Special attention is payed to post-conflict Peru and Evo Morales' Bolivia.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ILAC 277:
Senior Seminar: Spanish and Society - From Novel to Film
Open to seniors in ILAC and Spanish; juniors by permission of instructor. All students must contact instructor to obtain an enrollment code. How are film and novels alike? How are they different? Can the study of cinematographic adaptation of novels help us understand better the specific nature of literature and that of film? What does it mean to be 'faithful' to a work of literature in a new medium? To address these questions, the course combines a selection of major Latin American novels and plays, as well as a panorama of Latin American cinematography, from 1960s's films to contemporary productions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ILAC 278A:
Senior Seminar: Shepherds and Butchers, or The Iberian Pastoral
Open to seniors in ILAC and Spanish; juniors by permission of instructor. What does pastoral literature -- with its lovesick shepherds, acts of self-immolation, and aquatic nymphs -- have to do with imperial expansion? For early modern Portugal and Spain, it formed a surprisingly indispensable (if somewhat perverse) foundation for their respective colonial projects. From the earliest African slave markets to the rise of the modern novel, the pastoral is everywhere, a true companion of empire. Through a close analysis and discussion of early modern texts in Spanish and Portuguese (translations of Portuguese texts will be made available), as well as some theoretical/philosophical texts in English, we will explore the bizarre place of the pastoral in early modern Iberian Empire and reckon with its impact on our own sense of the colonial past. Authors include: Joanot Martorell, Francisco de Sá de Miranda, Garcilaso de la Vega, Joan Boscà, Jorge Montemor, Luisa Sigea, Luís de Camões, and Miguel de Cervantes. NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 5 units and a letter grade to be eligible for WIM credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ITALIAN 75N:
Narrative Medicine and Near-Death Experiences (FRENCH 75N)
Even if many of us don't fully believe in an afterlife, we remain fascinated by visions of it. This course focuses on Near-Death Experiences and the stories around them, investigating them from the many perspectives pertinent to the growing field of narrative medicine: medical, neurological, cognitive, psychological, sociological, literary, and filmic. The goal is not to understand whether the stories are veridical but what they do for us, as individuals, and as a culture, and in particular how they seek to reshape the patient-doctor relationship. Materials will span the 20th century and come into the present. Taught in English.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ITALIAN 101:
Italy: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Renowned for its rich cultural tradition, Italy is also one of the most problematic nations in Europe. This course explores the contradictions at the heart of Italy by examining how art and literature provide a unique perspective onto modern Italian history. We will focus on key phenomena that contribute both positively and negatively to the complex "spirit" of Italy, such as the presence of the past, political realism and idealism, revolution, corruption, decadence, war, immigration, and crises of all kinds. Through the study of historical and literary texts, films, and news media, the course seeks to understand Italy's current place in Europe and its future trajectory by looking to its past as a point of comparison. Taught in English.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ITALIAN 115:
Mapping the Grand Tour: Digital Methods for Historical Data (CLASSICS 115, ENGLISH 115, HISTORY 238C)
Classical Italy attracted thousands of travelers throughout the 1700s. Referring to their journey as the "Grand Tour," travelers pursued intellectual passions, promoted careers, and satisfied wanderlust, all while collecting antiquities to fill museums and estates back home. What can digital approaches tell us about who traveled, where and why? We will read travel accounts; experiment with parsing; and visualize historical data. Final projects to form credited contributions to the Grand Tour Project, a cutting-edge digital platform. No prior experience necessary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ITALIAN 127:
Inventing Italian Literature: Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarca
This course examines the origins of Italian literature in the late Middle Ages. We will read selections from Dante's Vita Nuova and Inferno; Petrarca's Canzoniere; and Boccaccio's Decameron. Taught in Italian. Prerequisites: ITALLANG 22A or equivalent.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ITALIAN 128:
The Italian Renaissance and the Path to Modernity
The literature, art, and history of the Renaissance and beyond. Readings from the 15th through 18th centuries include Moderata Fonte, Machiavelli, Ariosto, Tasso, Galileo, and Goldoni. Taught in Italian. Prerequisites: ITALLANG 22A or equivalent (2 years of Italian)
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ITALIAN 129:
Modern Italian Culture
This course examines the fate of Italian culture since 1800. We will study major examples of Italian literature, art, and cinema from the modern period in relation to their historical context. Taught in Italian. Prerequisites: ITALLANG 22A or equivalent.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ITALIAN 152:
Boccaccio's Decameron: The Ethics of Storytelling (ITALIAN 352)
This course involves an in-depth study of Boccaccio's Decameron in the context of medieval theories of poetry and interpretation. The goal is to understand more fully the relationship between literature and lived experience implied by Boccaccio's fictions. We will address key critical issues and theoretical approaches related to the text. Taught in English translation, there will be an optional supplementary Italian discussion section during weeks 2-9.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ITALIAN 154:
Film & Philosophy (COMPLIT 154A, ENGLISH 154F, FRENCH 154, PHIL 193C, PHIL 293C)
Issues of authenticity, morality, personal identity, and the value of truth explored through film; philosophical investigation of the filmic medium itself. Screenings to include Blade Runner (Scott), Do The Right Thing (Lee), The Seventh Seal (Bergman), Fight Club (Fincher), La Jetée (Marker), Memento (Nolan), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Kaufman). Taught in English.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ITALIAN 155:
The Mafia in Society, Film, and Fiction
The mafia has become a global problem through its infiltration of international business, and its model of organized crime has spread all over the world from its origins in Sicily. At the same time, film and fiction remain fascinated by a romantic, heroic vision of the mafia. Compares both Italian and American fantasies of the Mafia to its history and impact on Italian and global culture. Taught in English.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ITALIAN 164:
Horror, Italian Style
In the popular imagination, Italy is the land of fashion and Vespas, pasta and wine, sunshine and romance. Yet it has also been the site of tales of terror, ranging from 18th-century Gothic novels to 1970s horror films. In this course, we will analyze literary texts and films that feature labyrinthine catacombs, mad scientists, ancient Roman vampires, Renaissance ghosts, ballerina-witches, and more. Through the study of such materials, we will seek to reconcile this darkness with Italy¿s sunny side and to understand what these macabre depictions might reveal about Italy¿s complex past. Taught in English.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ITALIAN 175:
CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People (COMPLIT 100, DLCL 100, FRENCH 175, GERMAN 175, HISTORY 206E, ILAC 175, URBANST 153)
This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ITALIAN 181:
Philosophy and Literature (CLASSICS 42, COMPLIT 181, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181)
What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
ITALIAN 231:
Leonardo's World: Science, Technology, and Art (ARTHIST 231, ARTHIST 431, HISTORY 231, HISTORY 331, ITALIAN 331)
Leonardo da Vinci is emblematic of creativity and innovation. His art is iconic, his inventions legendary. His understanding of nature, the human body, and machines made him a scientist and engineer as well as an artist. This class explores the historical Leonardo, exploring his interests and accomplishments as a product of the society of Renaissance Italy. Why did this world produce a Leonardo? Students will contribute to a library exhibit for the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death in May 2019.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ITALIAN 266:
Women's Voices in Contemporary Italian Literature (FEMGEN 266)
The traditional canon of Italian literature consists almost exclusively of male authors. Yet Italian women writers have been active since the time of Dante. This course presents an overview of women's prose fiction of the last 100 years, from Sibilla Aleramo's groundbreaking feminist novel Una donna (1906) to Elena Ferrante's La figlia oscura (2015). We will examine such concerns as the central issue of sexual violence in many female autobiographies; the experience of motherhood; the conflict between maternal love and the desire for self-determination and autonomy; paths to political awareness; reinventing the historical novel. Taught in English.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
ITALIC 91:
Immersion in the Arts: Living in Culture, Creating
Creating, is the first part of ITALIC, a year-long course that explores the ways people make and encounter a wide range of artworks, including music and performance, the visual arts, literature, film and other media. In ITALIC 91 we ask: How do artists innovate? What roles can earlier artworks play in new creations? How do audiences create? In addressing these questions, we will read texts by Viktor Shklovsky, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Susan Sontag, among others. We will attend Tosca at the San Francisco Opera, the Susan Meiselas exhibition at SFMoMA, as well as street art and the home of the conceptual artist David Ireland in the Mission District of San Francisco. We will also have a class visit by the St. Lawrence String Quartet and attend a performance by the musician Nitin Sawhney with the dancer/choreographers WangRamirez on campus. In order to make talking about art a part of daily life, students taking ITALIC live together in Burbank and eat lunch with their professors after class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The course enhances its academic endeavors with art-making opportunities in section and a two-week practicum with Dan Klein devoted to the art of improv.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
ITALIC 92:
Immersion in the Arts: Living in Culture, Interpreting
Interpreting, is the second part of ITALIC, a year-long course that explores the ways people make and encounter a wide range of artworks, including music and performance, the visual arts, literature, film and other media. Why do artworks affect us and how do we make sense of them? What makes it difficult to describe works of art and how can we do this well? How do our individual experiences influence our responses and interpretations? To address these questions in the winter quarter of ITALIC, we will read texts by such thinkers as Roland Barthes, Georg Simmel, and Roman Jakobson and attend various exhibitions and performances on and off campus, including a performances of the internationally-recognized Batsheva Dance Company at Memorial Auditorium. In conjunction with a specially-commissioned artwork by Mark Dion at the Cantor Arts Center, we will consider how contemporary artists are re-interpreting museum collections and think of curation as a form of art-making. Again, ITALIC will enhance its academic endeavors with art-making in section and in a two-week practicum with Marisa Galvez on Performing Trobar, which engages students in the literary and performative modes of troubadour lyrics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
JAPAN 21Q:
Humanities Core: Love and Betrayal in Asia (CHINA 21Q, HUMCORE 21Q, KOREA 21Q)
Why are lovers in storybooks East and West always star-crossed? Why do love and death seem to go together? For every Romeo and Juliet, there are dozens of doomed lovers in the Asian literary repertoires, from Genji's string of embittered mistresses, to the Butterfly lovers in early modern China, to the voices of desire in Koryo love songs, to the devoted adolescent cousins in Dream of the Red Chamber, to the media stars of Korean romantic drama, now wildly popular throughout Asia. In this course, we explore how the love story has evolved over centuries of East Asian history, asking along the way what we can learn about Chinese, Japanese, and Korean views of family and community, gender and sexuality, truth and deception, trust and betrayal, ritual and emotion, and freedom and solidarity from canonical and non-canonical works in East Asian literatures. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
JAPAN 22Q:
Humanities Core: How to be Modern in East Asia (CHINA 22Q, COMPLIT 22Q, HUMCORE 22Q)
Modern East Asia was almost continuously convulsed by war and revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. But the everyday experience of modernity was structured more profoundly by the widening gulf between the country and the city, economically, politically, and culturally. This course examines literary and cinematic works from China and Japan that respond to and reflect on the city/country divide, framing it against issues of class, gender, national identity, and ethnicity. It also explores changing ideas about home/hometown, native soil, the folk, roots, migration, enlightenment, civilization, progress, modernization, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and sustainability. All materials are in English. N.B. This is the third of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
JAPAN 60:
Asian Arts and Cultures (ARTHIST 2)
An introduction to major monuments, themes, styles, and media of East and South Asian visual arts, in their social, literary, religious, and political contexts. Through close study of primary monuments of architectural, pictorial, and sculptural arts and related texts, this course will explore ritual and mortuary arts; Buddhist arts across Asia; narrative and landscape images; and courtly, urban, monastic, and studio environments for art from Bronze Age to modern eras.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
JAPAN 118:
Humanities Core: Everybody Eats: The Language, Culture, and Ethics of Food in East Asia (HUMCORE 22, KOREA 118)
Many of us have grown up eating "Asian" at home, with friends, on special occasions, or even without full awareness that Asian is what we were eating. This course situates the three major culinary traditions of East Asia--China, Japan, and Korea--in the histories and civilizations of the region, using food as an introduction to their rich repertoires of literature, art, language, philosophy, religion, and culture. It also situates these seemingly timeless gastronomies within local and global flows, social change, and ethical frameworks. Specifically, we will explore the traditional elements of Korean court food, and the transformation of this cuisine as a consequence of the Korean War and South Korea¿s subsequent globalizing economy; the intersection of traditional Japanese food with past and contemporary identities; and the evolution of Chinese cuisine that accompanies shifting attitudes about the environment, health, and well-being. Questions we will ask ourselves during the quarter include, what is "Asian" about Asian cuisine? How has the language of food changed? Is eating, and talking about eating, a gendered experience? How have changing views of the self and community shifted the conversation around the ethics and ecology of meat consumption?
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
JAPAN 121:
Translating Japan, Translating the West (COMPLIT 142B, JAPAN 221)
Translation lies at the heart of all intercultural exchange. This course introduces students to the specific ways in which translation has shaped the image of Japan in the West, the image of the West in Japan, and Japan's self-image in the modern period. What texts and concepts were translated by each side, how, and to what effect? No prior knowledge of Japanese language necessary.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
JAPAN 138:
Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature and Culture (JAPAN 238)
This class introduces key literary texts from Japan's modern era (1868-present), locating these works in the larger political, social, and cultural trends of the period. Primary texts include: Futabatei Shimei's Floating Clouds, Higuchi Ichiyô's Child's Play, Natsume Sôseki's Kokoro, Kobayashi Takiji's Cannery Boat, Ôe Kenzaburô's The Catch, and Yoshimoto Banana's Kitchen. Examination of these literary works will be contextualized within larger political trends (e.g., the modernization program of the Meiji regime, the policies of Japan's wartime government, and postwar Japanese responses to the cold war), social developments (e.g., changing notions of social class, the women's rights movement, and the social effects of the postwar economic expansion), and cultural movements (e.g., literary reform movement of the 1890s, modernism of the 1920s and 30s, and postmodernism of the 1980s). The goal of the class is to use literary texts as a point of entry to understand the grand narrative of Japan's journey from its tentative re-entry into the international community in the 1850s, through the cataclysm of the Pacific War, to the remarkable prosperity of the bubble years in the 1980s.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
JAPAN 151B:
The Nature of Knowledge: Science and Literature in East Asia (CHINA 151B, CHINA 251B, JAPAN 251B, KOREA 151, KOREA 251)
"The Nature of Knowledge" explores the intersections of science and humanities East Asia. It covers a broad geographic area (China, Japan, and Korea) along a long temporal space (14th century - present) to investigate how historical notions about the natural world, the human body, and social order defied, informed, and constructed our current categories of science and humanities. The course will make use of medical, geographic, and cosmological treatises from premodern East Asia, portrayals and uses of science in modern literature, film, and media, as well as theoretical and historical essays on the relationships between literature, science, and society.nnAs part of its exploration of science and the humanities in conjunction, the course addresses how understandings of nature are mediated through techniques of narrative, rhetoric, visualization, and demonstration. In the meantime, it also examines how the emergence of modern disciplinary "science" influenced the development of literary language, tropes, and techniques of subject development. This class will expose the ways that science has been mobilized for various ideological projects and to serve different interests, and will produce insights into contemporary debates about the sciences and humanities.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
JAPAN 164:
Introduction to Premodern Japanese (JAPAN 264)
Readings from Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, and early Edo periods with focus on grammar and reading comprehension. Prerequisite: JAPANLNG 129B or 103, or equivalent.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
JAPAN 170:
The Tale of Genji and Its Historical Reception (JAPAN 270)
Approaches to the tale including 12th-century allegorical and modern feminist readings. Influence upon other works including poetry, Noh plays, short stories, modern novels, and comic book ( manga) retellings. Prerequisite for graduate students: JAPANLNG 129B or 103, or equivalent.nnThis course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 2-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
JEWISHST 9N:
What Didn't Make it into the Bible (CLASSICS 9N, RELIGST 9N)
Over two billion people alive today consider the Bible to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How would history look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Jewish and Christian texts are not included in the Bible. ¿What Didn't Make It in the Bible¿ focuses on these excluded writings. We will explore the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient romance novels, explore the adventures of fallen angels who sired giants (and taught humans about cosmetics), tour heaven and hell, encounter the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. The only prerequisite is an interest in exploring books, groups, and ideas that eventually lost the battles of history and to keep asking the question "why." In critically examining these ancient narratives and the communities that wrote them, you will learn about the content and history of the Bible, better appreciate the diversity of early Judaism and Christianity, understand the historical context of these religions, and explore the politics behind what did and did not make it into the bible.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
JEWISHST 37Q:
Zionism and the Novel (COMPLIT 37Q)
At the end of the nineteenth century, Zionism emerged as a political movement to establish a national homeland for the Jews, eventually leading to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. This seminar uses novels to explore the changes in Zionism, the roots of the conflict in the Middle East, and the potentials for the future. We will take a close look at novels by Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, in order to understand multiple perspectives, and we will also consider works by authors from the North America and from Europe. Note: This course must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for WAYS credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP, Writing 2
JEWISHST 53:
Exploring Jewish Spirituality (RELIGST 53)
It was once accepted as fact that Judaism is a purely rational religion devoid of any authentic mystical tradition. But the past century of scholarship has reversed this claim, demonstrating that the spiritual life has been integral to Judaism's vital heart since ancient times. This yearning for a direct immediate experience of God's Presence, a longing to grasp the mysteries of the human soul and know the inner dynamics of the Divine realm, has taken on many different forms across the centuries. This course will introduce students to the major texts and core ideas of Jewish mysticism and spirituality, tracking their development from the Hebrew Bible to the present day. Close attention will be paid to the sources¿ historical context, and we will also engage with broader methodological questions regarding the academic study of religion and the comparative approach to mysticism.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
JEWISHST 86:
Exploring the New Testament (CLASSICS 43, RELIGST 86)
To explore the historical context of the earliest Christians, students will read most of the New Testament as well as many documents that didn't make the final cut. Non-Christian texts, Roman art, and surviving archeological remains will better situate Christianity within the ancient world. Students will read from the Dead Sea Scrolls, explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing divine temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse an ancient marriage guide, and engage with recent scholarship in archeology, literary criticism, and history.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
JEWISHST 106:
Reflection on the Other: The Jew and the Arab in Literature (AMELANG 126, COMPLIT 145)
How literary works outside the realm of Western culture struggle with questions such as identity, minority, and the issue of the Other. How the Arab is viewed in Hebrew literature, film and music and how the Jew is viewed in Palestinian works in Hebrew or Arabic (in translation to English). Historical, political, and sociological forces that have contributed to the shaping of these writers' views. Guest lectures about the Jew in Palestinian literature and music. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
JEWISHST 123:
Muslims, Jews, and Christians: Conflict, Coexistence, and Collaboration (RELIGST 133)
Relationships between Muslims, Jews, and Christians today are informed by a multitude of complex and often painful histories. These faith traditions emerged out of deep and sustained engagement with one another sharing theological and ethical principles, and revering many of the same figures and there have been many periods of rich and productive interaction. Yet there have also been areas of dissension and conflict, and periods when theological, social, or political disagreement devolved into violence and oppression. In recent times (especially following the Holocaust and the establishment of the modern State of Israel), religious, political, and intellectual leaders of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities, in the U.S. and around the world, have recognized the need to forge deeper and more meaningful relationships with one another. Knowledge and understanding of the perspectives that different communities and individuals bring to bear on their entangled past, present, and future are a critical part of efforts to resolve intransigent conflicts and advance mutual interests. This course explores some of the most significant moments of interaction through literature and art, polemic and dialogue that have shaped engagements between Muslims, Jews, and Christians throughout history, and examines both prospects and pitfalls for engagement in the present and future.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
JEWISHST 125:
Modern Jewish Mystics: Devotion in a Secular Age (RELIGST 165)
The twentieth-century was a time of tremendous upheaval and unspeakable tragedy for the Jewish communities of Europe. But the past hundred years were also a period of great renewal for Jewish spirituality, a renaissance that has continued into the present day. We will explore the mystic writings of figures from the Safed Renaissance, the Hasidic masters, with a particular focus on the works of Martin Buber, Hillel Zeitlin, Abraham Isaac Kook, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Arthur Green. We will examine their teachings in light of the challenges of the two World Wars, the Holocaust, and the processes of modernity and secularism. Consideration will be made of the unique cultural contexts of modern Israel and contemporary America.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
JEWISHST 129:
Sacred Words: Jewish Thought and the Question of Language (RELIGST 169)
Jews have long been referred as the people of the book, but they might better be referred to as the people of the word. Drawing upon texts from the Hebrew Bible to the works of modern Hebrew writers like of Hayyim Nahman Bialik and Amoz Oz, this seminar will chart the development of Jewish thinking on language over the past two millennia. We will explore issues such as: the idea of canonization; oral versus written language; the nature and possibility of translation; the origins of language; notions of negative theology; mystical approaches to the word; the rebirth of Hebrew as a spoken and cultural language; and the limits of language after the Holocaust. This course will also bring Jewish thought into dialogue with contemporary philosophical reflections on issues of language. Modern explorations of language will prove an interesting way of deepening our understanding of the Jewish thinkers on one hand, and enriching contemporary intellectual discourse on the other.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
JEWISHST 129A:
Milk and Honey, Wine and Blood: Food, Justice, and Ethnic Identity in Jewish Culture (RELIGST 129)
This course examines Jewish culture and the food practices and traditions that have shaped and continue to shape it. Students learn to prepare a variety of meals while studying about the historical and literary traditions associated with them, such as the dietary `laws¿ and the long history of their interpretation, as well as the cultivation of eating as devotional practice in Jewish mystical traditions. We will explore how regional foods the world over contribute to the formation of distinct Jewish ethnic identities, and how these traditions shape contemporary Jewish food ethics. The course includes guest visits by professional chefs and food writers, and field trips to a local winery.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
JEWISHST 143:
Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean (AFRICAAM 133, AFRICAST 132, COMPLIT 133A, COMPLIT 233A, FRENCH 133)
This course aims to equip students with an understanding of the cultural, social, and political aspects at play in the literatures of Francophone Africa and the Caribbean of the 20th and 21st century. Our primary readings will be Francophone novels and poetry. We will also read some theoretical texts. The assigned readings will expose students to literature from diverse French-speaking regions of the African/Caribbean world. This course will also serve as a "literary toolbox," with the intention of facilitating an understanding of literary genres, and terms. Students can expect to work on their production of written and spoken French, in addition to reading comprehension. Special guest: Moroccan author Meryem Alaoui. Required readings include: Aime Cesaire, Maryse Condé, Fatou Diome, Dany Laferriere, Leonara Miano, Albert Memmi. Taught in French. Prerequisite: FRENLANG 124 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
JEWISHST 147B:
The Hebrew and Jewish Short Story (COMPLIT 127B)
Short stories from Israel, the US and Europe including works by Agnon, Kafka, Keret, Castel-Bloom, Kashua, Singer, Benjamin, Freud, biblical myths and more. The class will engage with questions related to the short story as a literary form and the history of the short story. Reading and discussion in English. Optional: special section with readings and discussions in Hebrew. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
JEWISHST 155D:
Jewish American Literature (AMSTUD 145D, ENGLISH 145D, REES 145D)
From its inception, Jewish-American literature has taken as its subject as well as its context the idea of Jewishness itself. Jewish culture is a diasporic one, and for this reason the concept of Jewishness differs from country to country and across time. What stays remarkably similar, though, is Jewish self-perception and relatedly Jewish literary style. This is as true for the first-generation immigrant writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Anzia Yezierska who came to the United States from abroad as it is for their second-generation children born in the United States, and the children of those children. In this course, we will consider the difficulties of displacement for the emigrant generation and their efforts to sustain their cultural integrity in the multicultural American environment. We'll also examine the often comic revolt of their American-born children and grandchildren against their (grand-)parents nostalgia and failure to assimilate. Only by considering these transnational roots can one understand the particularity of the Jewish-American novel in relation to mainstream and minority American literatures. In investigating the link between American Jewish writers and their literary progenitors, we will draw largely but not exclusively from Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
JEWISHST 242G:
Myth and Modernity (COMPLIT 222A, GERMAN 222, GERMAN 322, JEWISHST 342)
Masters of German 20th- and 21st-Century literature and philosophy as they present aesthetic innovation and confront the challenges of modern technology, social alienation, manmade catastrophes, and imagine the future. Readings include Nietzsche, Freud, Rilke, Musil, Brecht, Kafka, Doeblin, Benjamin, Juenger, Arendt, Musil, Mann, Adorno, Celan, Grass, Bachmann, Bernhardt, Wolf, and Kluge. Taught in English. Note for German Studies grad students: GERMAN 322 will fulfill the grad core requirement since GERMAN 332 is not being offered this year. NOTE: Enrollment requires Professor Eshel's consent. Please contact him directly at eshel@stanford.edu and answer these 2 questions: "Why do you want to take this course?" and "What do you think you can add to the discussion?" Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
JEWISHST 249:
The Algerian Wars (CSRE 249, FRENCH 249, HISTORY 239G)
From Algiers the White to Algiers the Red, Algiers, the Mecca of the Revolutionaries in the words of Amilcar Cabral, this course offers to study the Algerian Wars since the French conquest of Algeria (1830-) to the Algerian civil war of the 1990s. We will revisit the ways in which the war has been narrated in literature and cinema, popular culture, and political discourse. A special focus will be given to the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). The course considers the racial representations of the war in the media, the continuing legacies surrounding the conflict in France, Africa, and the United States, from Che Guevara to the Black Panthers. A key focus will be the transmission of collective memory through transnational lenses, and analyses of commemorative events and movies. nReadings from James Baldwin, Assia Djebar, Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon, Mouloud Feraoun. Movies include "The Battle of Algiers," "Days of Glory," and "Viva Laldjérie." nTaught in English.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
KOREA 21Q:
Humanities Core: Love and Betrayal in Asia (CHINA 21Q, HUMCORE 21Q, JAPAN 21Q)
Why are lovers in storybooks East and West always star-crossed? Why do love and death seem to go together? For every Romeo and Juliet, there are dozens of doomed lovers in the Asian literary repertoires, from Genji's string of embittered mistresses, to the Butterfly lovers in early modern China, to the voices of desire in Koryo love songs, to the devoted adolescent cousins in Dream of the Red Chamber, to the media stars of Korean romantic drama, now wildly popular throughout Asia. In this course, we explore how the love story has evolved over centuries of East Asian history, asking along the way what we can learn about Chinese, Japanese, and Korean views of family and community, gender and sexuality, truth and deception, trust and betrayal, ritual and emotion, and freedom and solidarity from canonical and non-canonical works in East Asian literatures. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
KOREA 101N:
Kangnam Style: Korean Soft Power in the Global Economy
For over a decade now, South Korea has established itself as a tireless generator of soft power, the popularity of its pop-culture spreading from Asia to the rest of the world. This class will look into the economic engine that moves this "cultural contents" industry, and will examine some of its expressions in the form of K-pop. Class meets in East Asia Library (Lathrop Library), Rm 338.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
KOREA 118:
Humanities Core: Everybody Eats: The Language, Culture, and Ethics of Food in East Asia (HUMCORE 22, JAPAN 118)
Many of us have grown up eating "Asian" at home, with friends, on special occasions, or even without full awareness that Asian is what we were eating. This course situates the three major culinary traditions of East Asia--China, Japan, and Korea--in the histories and civilizations of the region, using food as an introduction to their rich repertoires of literature, art, language, philosophy, religion, and culture. It also situates these seemingly timeless gastronomies within local and global flows, social change, and ethical frameworks. Specifically, we will explore the traditional elements of Korean court food, and the transformation of this cuisine as a consequence of the Korean War and South Korea¿s subsequent globalizing economy; the intersection of traditional Japanese food with past and contemporary identities; and the evolution of Chinese cuisine that accompanies shifting attitudes about the environment, health, and well-being. Questions we will ask ourselves during the quarter include, what is "Asian" about Asian cuisine? How has the language of food changed? Is eating, and talking about eating, a gendered experience? How have changing views of the self and community shifted the conversation around the ethics and ecology of meat consumption?
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
KOREA 120:
Narratives of Modern and Contemporary Korea (KOREA 220)
This introductory survey will examine the development of South and North Korean literature from the turn of the 20th century until the present. The course will be guided by historical and thematic inquiries as we explore literature in the colonial period, in the period of postwar industrialization, and contemporary literature from the last decade. We will supplement our readings with critical writing about Korea from the fields of cultural studies and the social sciences in order to broaden the terms of our engagement with our primary texts.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
KOREA 121:
Doing the Right Thing: Ethical Dilemmas in Korean Film (KOREA 221)
Ethics and violence seem to be contradictory terms, yet much of Korean film and literature in the past five decades has demonstrated that they are an intricate and in many ways justifiable part of the fabric of contemporary existence. Film exposes time and again the complex ways in which the supposed vanguards of morality, religious institutions, family, schools, and the state are sites of condoned transgression, wherein spiritual and physical violation is inflicted relentlessly. This class will explore the ways in which questions about Truth and the origins of good and evil are mediated through film in the particular context of the political, social, and economic development of postwar South Korea. Tuesday classes will include a brief introduction followed by a film screening that will last on average for two hours; students that are unable to stay until 5 pm will be required to watch the rest of the film on their own.
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
KOREA 151:
The Nature of Knowledge: Science and Literature in East Asia (CHINA 151B, CHINA 251B, JAPAN 151B, JAPAN 251B, KOREA 251)
"The Nature of Knowledge" explores the intersections of science and humanities East Asia. It covers a broad geographic area (China, Japan, and Korea) along a long temporal space (14th century - present) to investigate how historical notions about the natural world, the human body, and social order defied, informed, and constructed our current categories of science and humanities. The course will make use of medical, geographic, and cosmological treatises from premodern East Asia, portrayals and uses of science in modern literature, film, and media, as well as theoretical and historical essays on the relationships between literature, science, and society.nnAs part of its exploration of science and the humanities in conjunction, the course addresses how understandings of nature are mediated through techniques of narrative, rhetoric, visualization, and demonstration. In the meantime, it also examines how the emergence of modern disciplinary "science" influenced the development of literary language, tropes, and techniques of subject development. This class will expose the ways that science has been mobilized for various ideological projects and to serve different interests, and will produce insights into contemporary debates about the sciences and humanities.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
MUSIC 1:
Musical Genius: Exemplars in the History of Organized Sound
How does music work? A broad exploration of music as defined by three major components (i) Theories of Music (elements and parameters), (ii) Histories of Music (cultures and people), and (iii) Practitioners of Music (musicians and scholars). Lecture, discussion, guided critical listening and viewing of audio, video, and live performance, and creation of self-curated mini-projects.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 1A:
Music, Mind, and Human Behavior
An introductory exploration of the question of why music is a pervasive and fundamental aspect of human existence. The class will introduce aspects of music perception and cognition as well as anthropological and cultural considerations.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 2A:
The Symphony
Symphonic literature 1750 to the present, with emphasis on developing listening skills and preparation for attending a live performance. Ability to read music not required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 2C:
An Introduction to Opera
The lasting appeal of opera as a lavishly hybrid genre from the 1600s to the present. How and why does opera set its stories to music? What is operatic singing? Who is the audience? How do words, music, voices, movement, and staging collaborate in different operatic eras and cultures? Principal works by Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Britten, and Adams. Class studies and attends two works performed by the San Francisco Opera.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 7B:
Musical Cultures of the World
Ethnomusicologists study music in human life. Music is with us as we articulate and define social identities -- punk rocker, student, Japanese-American, member of a sorority, Catholic, radical, etc. --and as we acquire new identities through rites of passage such as weddings, graduations, and initiation ceremonies. Many of life's most intense moments are accompanied or created by music, but music can also be part of the everyday, with us as we work, move, and socialize. This course is about what music does in human life and what it means to participants. In other words, it is about the myriad ways that music makes us human. We will address musical meanings and practices in selected regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. As you encounter music in an increasingly connected world, this course will provide you with a new awareness of musical diversity and of the social implications of music making. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
MUSIC 8A:
Rock, Sex, and Rebellion
Development of critical listening skills and musical parameters through genres in the history of rock music. Focus is on competing aesthetic tendencies and subcultural forces that shaped the music. Rock's significance in American culture, and the minority communities that have enriched rock's legacy as an expressively diverse form. Lectures, readings, listening, and video screenings. Attendance at all lectures is required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
MUSIC 14N:
Women Making Music (FEMGEN 13N)
Preference to freshmen. Women's musical activities across times and cultures; how ideas about gender influence the creation, performance, and perception of music.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
MUSIC 17N:
The Operas of Mozart
Preference to freshmen. Four of Mozart's mature operas, the earliest works in the operatic repertoire never to go out of fashion. What accounts for this extraordinary staying power? Focus on the history of their composition, performance, and reception, and their changing significance from Mozart's time to the present.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 18A:
Jazz History: Ragtime to Bebop, 1900-1940 (AFRICAAM 18A)
From the beginning of jazz to the war years.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 18B:
Jazz History: Bebop to Present, 1940-Present (AFRICAAM 18B)
Modern jazz styles from Bebop to the current scene. Emphasis is on the significant artists of each style.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 19A:
Introduction to Music Theory
For non-music majors and Music majors or minors unable to pass the proficiency test for entry to MUSIC 21. The fundamentals of music theory and notation, basic sight reading, sight singing, ear training, keyboard harmony; melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic dictation. Skill oriented, using piano and voice as basic tools to develop listening and reading skills.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 19B:
Intermediate Music Theory
This course is an introduction to music theory geared toward students who have basic literacy skills (i.e. fundamental notation, identifying major and minor scales, keys, etc). Using musical materials from repertoire selected from campus and area concerts, and incorporating the opportunity to attend these concerts, the course will introduce elements of harmony, melody, form, orchestration and arrangement. The course is an appropriate successor to Music 19A. Students who successfully complete Music 19B can go on directly to Music 21.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 20A:
Jazz Theory (AFRICAAM 20A)
Introduces the language and sounds of jazz through listening, analysis, and compositional exercises. Students apply the fundamentals of music theory to the study of jazz. Prerequisite: 19 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 20B:
Advanced Jazz Theory
Approaches to improvisation through listening and transcribing, and developing familiarity with important contributors to this music. Topics: scale theory, altered dominants, and substitute harmony. Prerequisite: 20A or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 20C:
Jazz Arranging and Composition
Jazz arranging and composition for small ensembles. Foundation for writing for big band. Prerequisite: 20A or consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 21:
Elements of Music I
Preference to majors. Introduction to tonal theory. Practice and analysis. Diatonic harmony focusing on melodic and harmonic organization, functional relationships, voice-leading, and tonal structures. Students must concurrently enroll in an Ear-training and musicianship lab (MUSIC 24a, 24b, or 24c as appropriate). Music majors must take 4 courses in ear training, and pass an ear training exit exam in their Junior year. Enrollment limited to 40. Prerequisites: (1) Piano Proficiency Exam (must be passed within the first two weeks of the term) or MUSIC 12A (may be taken concurrently); (2) Passing grade on a basic musical skills proficiency examination on the first day of class or MUSIC 19.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 22:
Elements of Music II
Preference to majors. Introduction to chromatic harmony focusing on secondary functions, modulations, harmonic sequences, mode mixture, and the Neapolitan, and augmented sixth chords. Analysis of musical forms and harmonizations complemented by harmonic and melodic dictation, sight singing, and other practical skills. Students must concurrently enroll in an Ear-training and musicianship lab (MUSIC 24a, 24b, or 24c as appropriate). Music majors must take 4 courses in ear training, and pass an ear training exit exam in their Junior year. Prerequisites: (1) MUSIC 21; (2) Piano Proficiency Exam or MUSIC 12B (may be taken concurrently).
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 23:
Elements of Music III
Preference to majors. Continuation of chromatic harmony and complex forms of late Romantic period. Students must concurrently enroll in an Ear-training and musicianship lab (MUSIC 24a, 24b, or 24c as appropriate). Music majors must take 4 courses in ear training, and pass an ear training exit exam in their Junior year. Prerequisites: (1) MUSIC 22; (2) Piano Proficiency Exam or MUSIC 12C (may be taken concurrently).
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 25:
Decoding Anime
Anime as an artistic form often boasts highly imaginative graphics, striking music, vibrant characters, and fantastical stories. The course aims at decoding the expressive power of anime by applying a method of multimedia analysis that focuses on the interaction between its component elements: story, image, sound and music. Through close reading of works by five leading and innovative directors the students will develop tools to analyze anime and interpret it in a larger cultural context.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 27N:
The British Invasion
Examination of three generations of British popular music in the `60s and `70s: the Beatles (and the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who); progressive rock (art rock) as embodied in Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer; the emergence of punk in its revolutionary (the Clash) and nihilistic (the Sex Pistols) forms. Among other issues, the manner in which marginal American culture (particularly African-American blues) is neglected by Americans and venerated by foreigners and the subsequent mainstream consumption of a transformed and repackaged American minority culture is discussed.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 31N:
Behind the Big Drums: Exploring Taiko (ASNAMST 31N)
Preference to Freshman. Since 1992 generations of Stanford students have heard, seen, and felt the power of taiko, big Japanese drums, at Admit Weekend, NSO, or at Baccalaureate. This seminar provides students with the opportunity to get behind the big drums, literally and academically. In fact, taiko is a relative newcomer to the American music scene. The contemporary ensemble drumming form, or kumidaiko, developed in Japan in the 1950s. The first North American taiko groups emerged from the Japanese American community shortly after and coincided with increased Asian American activism. In the intervening years, taiko has spread rapidly into other communities, most surprisingly to the UK, Europe, Australia, and South America. What drives the power of these drums? In this course, we explore the musical, cultural, historical, and political perspectives of taiko through readings and discussion, by playing the drums, workshopping with taiko masters, and meeting members of the taiko community. With North American taiko as the focal point, we learn about Japanese music and Japanese American history, and explore relations between performance, cultural expression, community, and identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 33N:
Beethoven
This seminar is designed as an in-depth introduction to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. In addition to exploring the composer's principal works in a variety of genres (symphonies, piano sonatas, string quartets, opera, etc.), we will consider broader questions of biography and reception history. How have images of the composer and the fortunes of his music changed over time? How did his compositions come to define the paradigm of Western classical music? What impact has he had on popular culture? The class is open to all levels of musical expertise; the ability to read music is not a requirement. Come prepared to discover -- or rediscover -- some great music!
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 34N:
Performing America: The Broadway Musical
Musical theater as a site for the construction of American identity in the twentieth century to the present. Issues of class, race, gender, and sexuality; intersections with jazz, rock, and pop; roles of lyricist, composer, director, choreographer, producer, performers. Individual shows (Showboat, Oklahoma, West Side Story, Funny Girl, Company, Les Misérables, Wicked, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, A Strange Loop); musical theater "song types" across eras; show tunes in jazz, cabaret, and recital contexts; musicals on film, television, and social media. Opportunities for performance and attending local productions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 37N:
Ki ho'alu: The New Renaissance of a Hawaiian Musical Tradition
Preference to freshman. Developed in the Hawaiian Islands during the 1830s, ki ho'alu, or Hawaiian slack key guitar, is an art form experiencing newfound popularity coinciding with the growth of political activism in Hawaiian culture. The musical, cultural, historical, and political perspectives of Hawaiian music and ki ho'alu, through hands-on experience, readings, discussion, and workshops. Hawaiian music and history and relationships among performance, cultural expression, community, and identity.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 40:
Music History to 1600
Pre- or corequisite: 21.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 41:
Music History 1600-1830
Pre- or corequisite: 22.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 42:
Music History Since 1830
Pre- or corequisite: 23.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 80:
Russian Modernists: Stravinsky & Shostakovich
An examination and comparison of the lives and music of Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich, two of the most important Modernist composers of the 20th century. Although both composers were Russians closely affiliated with St. Petersburg, their lives diverged dramatically, with Stravinsky pursuing an international career in the West while Shostakovich spent his entire life in the USSR after the Russian Revolution. Major compositions, including symphonies, operas, chamber music, and keyboard works, will be covered, as well as key writings by and about both composers. The ability to read music, while beneficial, is not required. This course must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 102:
Picturing Performance, Re-Envisioning the Arts (MUSIC 202)
Critical and creative exploration of the performing body as captured on film. Viewing/listening includes musicals, dance and opera on film, music video, experimental film and video, and moments of heightened musicality in feature film. Focus on examples of moving media that possess a kinship with music through gesture, rhythm or affect and through visual parameters like décor, lighting, texture, camera movement and editing. Requirements include choosing and documenting a live performance, producing a short audiovisual work involving post-production, and weekly reading and viewing/listening assignments. No previous videomaking experience required. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
MUSIC 118:
Musics and Appropriation Throughout the World (AFRICAAM 218, CSRE 118D)
This course critically examines musical practices and appropriation through the amplification of intersectionality. We consider musics globally through recourse to ethnomusicological literature and critical race theories. Our approach begins from an understanding that the social and political contexts where musics are created, disseminated, and consumed inform disparate interpretations and meanings of music, as well as its sounds. Our goal is to shape our ears to hear the effects of slavery, colonialism, capitalism, nationalism, class, gender difference, militarism, and activism. We interrogate the process of appropriating musics throughout the world by making the power structures that shape privileges and exclusions audible.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
MUSIC 122A:
Counterpoint
Analysis and composition of contrapuntal styles from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Use of keyboard, ear training, and sight singing underlies all written work. Prerequisites: MUSIC 23 and MUSIC 24C; passing piano-proficiency examination; or, consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 122B:
Analysis of Tonal Music
Complete movements, or entire shorter works of the 18th and 19th centuries, are analyzed in a variety of theoretical approaches. Prerequisites: MUSIC 23 and MUSIC 24C; passing piano-proficiency examination; or, consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 133:
Food, Text, Music: A Multidisciplinary Lab on the Art of Feasting (FRENCH 166, FRENCH 266, FRENCH 366, MUSIC 333)
Students cook a collection of unfamiliar recipes each week while learning about the cultural milieus in which they originated. The course focuses on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a time of great banquets that brought together chefs, visual artists, poets, musicians, and dancers. Students read late-medieval cookbooks under the guidance of professional chefs, learn songs and poetry with the help of visiting performers, and delve into a burgeoning scholarly literature on food history and sensory experience. We will also study trade routes and food networks, the environmental impact of large-scale banquets, the science of food, and the politics of plenty. This course may count towards the Medieval component of the French major, and corresponds to DLCL 121, a course requirement for the Medieval Studies Minor. Students interested in applying for course must email both professors (mgalvez@stanford.edu, jrodin@stanford.edu) by 20 September with a statement of up to 350 words that includes: (a) reasons for wanting to take the class; (b) relevant background in cooking/medieval studies/etc.; (c) stated commitment to attend all ten course meetings; and (d) any dietary restrictions/preferences.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 141J:
Studies in Music of the Renaissance (MUSIC 241J)
Prerequisites: MUSIC 21, MUSIC 40. (WIM at 4-unit level only.)
| Units: 2-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
MUSIC 142K:
Studies in Music of the Baroque: Handel the Cosmopolitan (MUSIC 242K)
Music history seminar on the operatic, sacred, and instrumental works of G.F. Handel as examples of the diversity, cosmopolitanism, expression, formal and technical features, and social uses of music in the first half of eighteenth century. Traces Handel¿s career from his native Germany to an elite Roman circle of musical connoisseurs, and to the Italian opera company he founded in London and his transformation of Italian opera into a new genre of English oratorio. By analyzing Handel¿s works in context, we examine the aesthetic, harmonic, and dramatic principles of the major European Baroque art-music genres. Prerequisites: MUSIC 22, MUSIC 41. (WIM at 4-unit level only.)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 143J:
Studies in Music of the Classical Period: Franz Joseph Haydn (MUSIC 243J)
Music and Musicians in the Age of EnlightenmentnPrerequisites: MUSIC 22, MUSIC 41. (WIM at 4-unit level only.)
Last offered: Autumn 2014
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
MUSIC 146J:
Studies in Ethnomusicology: Listening to the Local: Music Ethnography of the Bay Area (ANTHRO 146J, CSRE 146J, MUSIC 246J)
An introduction to music ethnography through student research on musical life in the Bay Area. Focus is on the intersections of music, social life, and cultural practice by engaging with people as they perform music and culture in situ. Techniques taught include participant-observation, interviewing and oral history, writing field-notes, recording, transcription, analysis, and ethnographic writing. Pre-/co-requisite (for music majors): MUSIC 22. (WIM at 4 units only.)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
MUSIC 146M:
New Keywords in African Sound (AFRICAAM 146D, AFRICAST 146M, CSRE 146D, MUSIC 246M)
This course identifies and considers new keywords for the study of contemporary African music and sound. Each week we will foster discussion around a keyword and a constellation of case studies. The sonic practices we will encounter range from South African house music to Ghanaian honk horns; from Congolese rumba bands to Tunisian trance singers; from listening to the radio in a Tanzanian homestead to making hip hop music videos on the Kenyan coast. By exploring the unexpected interconnections between contemporary African musical communities, we will discuss new keywords arising in current scholarship, including technologies like the amplifier and the hard drive, spaces like the studio and the city, and analytics like pleasure and hotness. We will also engage with established concepts for the study of postcolonial African cultures, including nationalism, cosmopolitanism, globalization, diaspora, and Pan-Africanism. This is a seminar-based course open to graduate students, upper level undergraduate students, and other students with consent of the instructor. Proficiency in music is not required. WIM at 4 units only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 147K:
Studies in Music, Media, and Popular Culture: Music and Urban Film (CSRE 147D, MUSIC 247K)
How music and sound work in urban cinema. What happens when music's capacity to transform everyday reality combines with the realism of urban films? Provides an introduction to traditional theories of film music and film sound; considers how new technologies and practices have changed the roles of music in film. Readings discuss film music, realistic cinema, urban musical practices and urban culture. Viewing includes action/adventure, Hindi film, documentary, film noir, hip hop film, the musical, and borderline cases by Jean-Luc Godard, Spike Lee, Wong Kar-Wai and Tsai Ming-Liang. Pre- or corequisite (for music majors): MUSIC 22. (WIM at 4 unit level only.)
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
MUSIC 150R:
Robert Schumann and the Idea of Musical Romanticism
The creative personality and musical compositions of Robert Schumann (1810-1856) as exemplars of the idea of Romanticism in European culture of the early nineteenth century. Survey of major genres (solo piano, Lieder, symphonies, chamber music, choral music) in dialogue with Romantic literary and visual cultures. Students prepare at least one or two works by Schumann or contemporary figures (Mendelssohn, Chopin, Brahms, Clara Schumann) for presentation in lecture-recital format. Prerequisites: Music 22 or equivalent (intermediate music theory), intermediate or higher performance ability in piano, strings, or voice
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 155:
Intermedia Workshop (ARTSTUDI 239, MUSIC 255)
Students develop and produce intermedia works. Musical and visual approaches to the conceptualisation and shaping of time-based art. Exploration of sound and image relationship. Study of a wide spectrum of audiovisual practices including experimental animation, video art, dance, performance, non-narrative forms, interactive art and installation art. Focus on works that use music/sound and image as equal partners. Limited enrollment. Prerequisites: consent of instructors, and one of FILMPROD 114, ARTSTUDI 131, 138, 167, 177, 179, or MUSIC 123, or equivalent. May be repeated for credit
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
MUSIC 185:
Technologies of Musical Expression
Music is made and experienced through technology created for it. These technologies allow for expression but influence the result. This course will utilize special collections, acoustical tools, music-making apps, live musicians, and media both historical and modern to reflect on the ways people make music expressive. The course is designed around creative projects and hands on experiences with digital and analogue media, player pianos, archival manuscripts, and sound sculptures to stimulate discussion about the role of technology in our musical experiences. Projects can include performances using digital and analogue media, performance art, creating player piano rolls, or performance ethnographies, etc. WAYS credit for 3 units and grade only.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 220B:
Compositional Algorithms, Psychoacoustics, and Computational Music
The use of high-level programming language as a compositional aid in creating musical structures. Advanced study of sound synthesis techniques. Simulation of a reverberant space and control of the position of sound within the space. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit. See http://ccrma.stanford.edu/. Prerequisite: 220A.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 223B:
Sonic Experiments in Composition
The course will present post-1945 works with timbre serving as an organizing principle or compositional metaphor, in the context of historical works in which timbre plays a structural role. Composers considered may include: Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros and other American experimentalists; Scelsi and his influence on the French Spectral school; the first and subsequent generations of French Spectralism; and contemporary composers of experimental music such as Peter Ablinger. Topics will include: process and form; timbre in relation to time and space; harmonicity and noise; and the influence of analog and digital technology on instrumental composition. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit for AII.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 260:
Transcultural Perspectives of South-East Asian Music and Arts (FRENCH 260A)
This course will explore South-East Asian (SEA) cultures and their influence on modern and contemporary Western art, particularly in France: for instance, Claude Debussy (Gamelan's music), Jacques Charpentier (Karnatak music), Auguste Rodin (Khmer art) and Antonin Artaud (Balinese theater). In the course of these interdisciplinary analyses - focusing particularly on music and dance - we will confront key notions in relation to transculturality: orientalism, appropriation, auto-ethnography, nostalgia and exoticism. We will also consider transculturality as interior to contemporary creation, through the study of contemporary SEA composers. Viewings of sculptures, marionette theater, ballet, opera and cinema will play in integral role. To be eligible for WAYS credit, this course must be taken for 3 units and a letter grade.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
NATIVEAM 39:
Long Live Our 4Bil. Year Old Mother: Black Feminist Praxis, Indigenous Resistance, Queer Possibility (AFRICAAM 39, CSRE 39, FEMGEN 39)
How can art facilitate a culture that values women, mothers, transfolks, caregivers, girls? How can black, indigenous, and people of color frameworks help us reckon with oppressive systems that threaten safety and survival for marginalized people and the lands that sustain us? How can these questions reveal the brilliant and inventive forms of survival that precede and transcend harmful systems toward a world of possibility? Each week, this course will call on artists, scholars, and organizers of color who clarify the urgency and interconnection of issues from patriarchal violence to environmental degradation; criminalization to legacies of settler colonialism. These same thinkers will also speak to the imaginative, everyday knowledge and creative healing practices that our forebears have used for millennia to give vision and rise to true transformation.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
NATIVEAM 122:
Historiography & Native American Oral Traditions and Narratives
This course is an introduction to Native American Literature in the United States in a (post) colonial, or decolonized context (in the last seventy years). The readings focus on the complex social and political influences that have shaped Native American literature in the last half of the twentieth century to the present. It is an introduction to nNative American fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction and autobiography. It draws on the historical (literary sovereignty) and theoretical frameworks (American Indian Literary Nationalism) used by Native American writers in the United States; how trends in Native American writing build on and integrate traditional modes of Native American nstorytelling (oral tradition & the verbal arts). It takes a specific in - depth look at Native American oral tradition. Where the overarching aim of the course is to address the nquestion: How do you define Native American literature? Students will be required to provide their own definition from what they learn about Native American oral tradition and the challenges (historic and otherwise) inherent in a (post) colonial or decolonized world for Native Americans.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
NATIVEAM 143A:
American Indian Mythology, Legend, and Lore (AMSTUD 143M, ENGLISH 43A, ENGLISH 143A)
(English majors and others taking 5 units, register for 143A.) Readings from American Indian literatures, old and new. Stories, songs, and rituals from the 19th century, including the Navajo Night Chant. Tricksters and trickster stories; war, healing, and hunting songs; Aztec songs from the 16th century. Readings from modern poets and novelists including N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, and Leslie Marmon Silko, and the classic autobiography, "Black Elk Speaks."
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
NATIVEAM 211:
The California Missions: Art History and Reconciliation (ARTHIST 211, CSRE 111)
Sites of the spirit and devotion, sites of genocide, foreboding actors in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, the subject of fourth-grade school projects, the Spanish Missions of Alta California are complex sites of inquiry, their meanings and associations different for each visitor. This seminar examines the art and architecture of the California Missions built between 1769 and 1823. Constructed with local materials and decorated with reredos, paintings and sculptures from Mexico and Spain, the Missions are at once humble spaces and flagships of a belated global baroque. They were also the laboratories of indigenous artists and artisans. This course seeks to understand how Mission art was meant to function, how and why it was made, what its materials were, while asking what the larger role of art was in a global system of missions. Can the study of this art lead to the reconciliation of populations in North America and within the field of art history? The Missions require a specific reexamination of the relationship between European and colonial forms, not as objects of curiosity or diffusion but as viable and globally informed agents.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OBGYN 81Q:
Perspectives on the Abortion Experience in Western Fiction
Explores the role of media in delivering abortion-related messages as well as the broader questions of how abortion and related issues are fundamentally integrated into the social fabric of US and global societies. Abortion remains one of the most controversial and polarizing challenges of our time. Yet, it has been a clinical, social, political, and cultural fact in a broad swath of societies for centuries. As is common for such lightning rod issues, the topic of abortion has featured prominently in novels and films. Each treatment provides a unique perspective on at least one aspect of abortion, whether it be clinical, social, political or cultural. How abortion is portrayed in novels and films provides the student of history, anthropology, and biology with insights into the author's or director's perspectives, and into societal attitudes and mores.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
OSPBER 17:
Split Images: A Century of Cinema
20th-century German culture through film. The silent era, Weimar, and the instrumentalization of film in the Third Reich. The postwar era: ideological and aesthetic codes of DEFA, new German cinema, and post-Wende filmmaking including Run Lola Run and Goodbye Lenin. Aesthetic aspects of the films including image composition, camera and editing techniques, and relation between sound and image.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
OSPBER 60:
Cityscape as History: Architecture and Urban Design in Berlin
Diversity of Berlin's architecture and urban design resulting from its historical background. Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his artistic ancestors. Role of the cultural exchange between Germany and the U.S. Changing nature of the city from the 19th century to the present.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPBER 66:
Theory from the Bleachers: Reading German Sports and Culture
German culture past and present through the lens of sports. Intellectual, societal, and historical-political contexts. Comparisons to Britain, France, and the U.S. The concepts of Körperkultur, Leistung, Show, Verein, and Haltung. Fair play, the relation of team and individual, production and deconstruction of sports heroes and heroines, and sports nationalism. Sources include sports narrations and images, attendance at sports events, and English and German texts. Taught in English.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II
OSPBER 80:
The Secret Life of Things
What is the role of objects in culture? Address this question from a variety of frameworks, including new materialism, symbolism, material culture, and historical materialism. Contrast these approaches in our hands-on study of Berlinalia¿literally, all things Berlin. Readings by Walter Benjamin on the telephone, Carl Jung on the totem, Bruno Latour and Jane Bennett on the relationship between nature and culture. Objects analyzed range from the emblematic (the hammer and sickle) to the mundane (rubble). No previous experience in the humanities required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
OSPBER 101A:
Contemporary Theater
Texts of plays supplemented by theoretical texts or reviews. Weekly theater visits and discussions with actors, directors, or other theater professionals. In German. Prerequisite: completion of GERLANG 3 or equivalent.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPFLOR 11:
Film, Food and the Italian Identity
Food in Italian cinema staged as an allegory of Italy's social, political and cultural milieu. Intersections between food, history and culture as they are reflected in and shaped by Italian cinema from the early 1900s until today. Topics include: farmer's tradition during Fascism; lack of food during WWII and its aftermath; the Economic Miracle; food and the Americanization of Italy; La Dolce Vita; the Italian family; ethnicity, globalization and the re-discovery of regional culinary identity in contemporary Italy. Impact of cinema in both reflecting and defining the relationship between food and culture.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPFLOR 28:
Between Art and Science: the Evolution of Techniques from Antiquity to Leonardo da Vinci
Revival of technical activity that began in the late fourteenth century, notably in Italy, and lasted, through the fifteenth century. New perspective on the Renaissance through focus on the careers and the most significant achievements of the "artist-engineers" active before Leonardo.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
OSPFLOR 34:
The Virgin Mother, Goddess of Beauty, Grand Duchess, and the Lady: Women in Florentine Art
Influence and position of women in the history of Florence as revealed in its art. Sculptural, pictorial, and architectural sources from a social, historical, and art historical point of view. Themes: the virgin mother (middle ages); the goddess of beauty (Botticelli to mannerism); the grand duchess (late Renaissance, Baroque); the lady, the woman (19th-20th centuries).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPFLOR 48:
Sharing Beauty in Florence: Collectors, Collections and the Shaping of the Western Museum Tradition
The city's art and theories of how art should be presented. The history and typology of world-class collections. Social, economic, political, and aesthetic issues in museum planning and management. Collections include the Medici, English and American collectors of the Victorian era, and modern corporate and public patrons.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPFLOR 49:
On-Screen Battles: Filmic Portrayals of Fascism and World War II
Structural and ideological attributes of narrative cinema, and theories of visual and cinematic representation. How film directors have translated history into stories, and war journals into visual images. Topics: the role of fascism in the development of Italian cinema and its phenomenology in film texts; cinema as a way of producing and reproducing constructions of history; film narratives as fictive metaphors of Italian cultural identity; film image, ideology, and politics of style.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPFLOR 54:
High Renaissance and Mannerism: the Great Italian Masters of the 15th and 16th Centuries
The development of 15th- and early 16th-century art in Florence and Rome. Epochal changes in the art of Michelangelo and Raphael in the service of Pope Julius II. The impact of Roman High Renaissance art on masters such as Fra' Bartolomeo and Andrea del Sarto. The tragic circumstances surrounding the early maniera: Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino and the transformation of early Mannerism into the elegant style of the Medicean court. Contemporary developments in Venice.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPFLOR 58:
Space as History: Social Vision and Urban Change
A thousand years of intentional change in Florence. Phases include programmatic enlargement of ecclesiastical structures begun in the 11th century; aggressive expansion of religious and civic space in the 13th and 14th centuries; aggrandizement of private and public buildings in the 15th century; transformation of Florence into a princely capital from the 16th through the 18th centuries; traumatic remaking of the city's historic core in the 19th century; and development of new residential areas on the outskirts and in neighboring towns in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPFLOR 67:
The Celluloid Gaze: Gender, Identity and Sexuality in Cinema
Film in the social construction of gender through the representation of the feminine, the female, and women. Female subjects, gaze, and identity through a historical, technical, and narrative frame. Emphasis is on gender, identity, and sexuality with references to feminist film theory from the early 70s to current methodologies based on semiotics, psychoanalysis, and cultural studies. Advantages and limitations of methods for textual analysis and the theories which inform them.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPFLOR 111Y:
From Giotto to Michelangelo: The Birth and Flowering of Renaissance Art in Florence
Lectures, site visits, and readings reconstruct the circumstances that favored the flowering of architecture, sculpture, and painting in Florence and Italy, late 13th to early 16th century. Emphasis is on the classical roots; the particular relationship with nature; the commitment to human expressiveness; and rootedness in the real-world experience, translated in sculpture and painting as powerful plasticity, perspective space, and interest in movement and emotion.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPFLOR 115Y:
Building the Cathedral and the Town Hall: Constructing and Deconstructing Symbols of a Civilization
The history, history of art, and symbolism of the two principal monuments of Florence: the cathedral and the town hall. Common meaning and ideological differences between the religious and civic symbols of Florence's history from the time of Giotto and the first Guelf republic to Bronzino and Giovanni da Bologna and the Grand Duchy.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPKYOTO 13:
Contemporary Religion in Japan's Ancient Capital: Sustaining and Recasting Tradition
Japanese attitudes to religion and popular forms of religiosity. Syncretic nature of beliefs and practices drawn on a variety of interwoven concepts, beliefs, customs and religious activities of native Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Indian origins as background. Topics include: pursuit of worldly benefits, religion and healing, fortune-telling, ascetic practices, pilgrimage, festivals (matsuri), new religions and their image, impact of the internet, response of religion in times of crisis.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPKYOTO 42:
Gardens of Kyoto: Spaces of Aesthetic and Spiritual Contemplation
Chronological stroll through Japanese gardens of different types and functions, spanning from the Heian period (794¿1185), when the ancient capital of Kyoto was established, through to contemporary times. Weekly field trips to a selection of Kyoto gardens and garden-related activities, in order to gain an understanding of the historical development and functions of Japanese gardens, including their design principles, techniques, and elements.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
OSPKYOTO 44:
The Zen of Japanese Design: Wa Concepts and their Creative Application
Links between successful Japanese design innovations and Japan¿s traditional `Wa¿ (lit. ¿harmony¿) principles that underpin them. Wa as a codified conceptual framework; how Japanese creatives continue to directly apply Wa principles to enhance their designs. Through a combination of classroom study and hand-on creative assignments as well as field trips throughout Kyoto, explore the relationship between Zen and Wa thinking and how it is applied in Japanese design. Students will gain significant experience developing their own original designs for products, business models or services, utilizing Wa principles
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
OSPKYOTO 51:
Salsa in Japan:Musical Migrations and Cultural Hybridity
Salsa as a major musical cultural product of 20th century Latin America in Japan. After Frances Aparicio¿s influential work, the course situates salsa in contemporary Japanese culture. The goal of this class is twofold: familiarity with the cultural history of salsa as a narrative of musical migration in connection with African and Caribbean diasporas; how this narrative unfolds from an ethnomusicological perspective in the vibrant salsa scene in contemporary Japanese culture, which connects to a history of Japan¿s global musical connections. Critical understanding of salsa as soundscape, rather than as a geographically bound musical genre.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPKYOTO 58:
A Journey into the Buddhist Visual Arts of Japan
Impact of Buddhism on the arts and culture of Japan as seen in the ancient capital of Kyoto. Image production, iconography, representational strategies, as well as the ritual and visual functions of Buddhist sculpture and painting with a focus on selected historical temples and their icons. Also examination of architectural and landscape elements of temple layouts, within which iconographic programs are framed, images are enlivened, and practices centered on these devotional and ritual art.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
OSPMADRD 8A:
Cities and Creativity: Cultural and Architectural Interpretations of Madrid
Architecture and the city, with a focus on recent currents in the progress of both, such as sustainability, environmentalism and the relationship with nature. Topics underpinned by discussion of theory, and illustrated by a study of the city of Madrid: an example of a hybrid architectural/planning experiential environment that looks to the future with an ambition for modernization.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
OSPMADRD 43:
The Jacobean Star Way and Europe: Society, Politics and Culture
The Saint James' Way as a tool to understand historic dynamics from a global perspective. Its effect on the structures that form a political and institutional system, and its society, economy, and ideology. Enrollment limited; instructor approval required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
OSPMADRD 45:
Women in Art: Case Study in the Madrid Museums
Viewing the collections at the Prado Museum through study and analysis of the representations of women. Contemporary literary texts and images that situate paintings in the historical, social, and political conditions that produced the works.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPMADRD 47:
Cultural Relations between Spain and the United States:Historical Perceptions and Influences, 1776-2
Critical historical thinking about international cultural relations, using Spain and U.S. as case studies examples, with references to Atlantic world contexts, from 1776 to the present. Insights into the continuing social and political relevance of their contested legacies. interpretive perspectives grounded in different ideologies, interests and collective identities within both societies. Introduction to pertinent social scientific theory regarding identity formation, self-image, and perceptions of and interactions with ethnic and cultural otherness. Differences between history, historiography and memory through consideration of diverse forms of expression and vehicles of transmission of collective memory.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
OSPMADRD 80:
Word, Image and Power
Relationships and uses of oral discourse, art, and iconography in politics in different countries through history. Case studies from ancient Egypt, the Greek Paideia, Cesar Augustus, medieval Europe, Spanish modern empire, French revolutionary discourse, and proletarian national identity in Russia and China.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
OSPMADRD 84:
Madrid Through My Eyes: A Theoreticl/Practical Documentary Film Workshop
Theoretical and practical view of Spanish language documentary cinema; potential of this type of film making as a form of personal expression. Tools for understanding and analyzing this type of cinema. Creative and analytical reflection on student 's Madrid experience; develop individual visual discourse to portray life in the city by filming a short documentary.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
OSPMADRD 102M:
Composition and Writing Workshop for Students in Madrid
Advanced. Writing as craft and process, emphasizing brainstorming, planning, outlining, drafting, revising, style, diction, and editing. Students choose topics related to their studies. Prerequisite: 13, 23B, or equivalent placement.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
OSPOXFRD 41:
Western Thought: Origins of Twentieth Century Semiotics
Story of semiotic exploration, its contributions to literary critical theory, Marxist critique and feminist critique, in development of twentieth century thought. Close look at principle authors and circumstances that engendered their writings. Questions about the relationship between thought and environment, and between ideology and action raised by looking at the way twentieth century events influenced thinkers to consider the purposes of language in society, in identity , and in authority.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
OSPOXFRD 64:
Arts in Prison in the U.K.
The UK is home to some of the most exemplary and successful, arts and prisons programs in the world. Arts in Prison in the UK offers BOSP Oxford students an immersive opportunity to explore this little known aspect of the interlinked British criminal justice and cultural systems. Through the dual lens of the arts and social change and cultural tourism, this seminar explores firsthand a range of issues including the linked histories of the U.K. and U.S. legal systems via this unique frame of the arts.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPOXFRD 72:
Oxford Fantasists
The lives and selected fantasy literature of famous Oxford alumni William Morris (Exeter College), Lewis Carroll (Christ Church), Oscar Wilde (Magdalen), C.S. Lewis (University and Magdalen), and J.R.R. Tolkien (Exeter, Pembroke, and Merton), looking at each writer's unique take on the fantasy genre. To place readings in context, this course will also explore and compare selected source materials used by these writers, including examples of classic "high" and "low" fairy tales, selections from Norse and Welsh mythology, and Arthurian romance.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPOXFRD 93:
Collecting the World
The art, science, and culture of the creation, transmission and collection of valuable, useful and informative objects and texts before the twentieth century, and the associated theories, purposes, and methods for collecting `worldly' goods and other valuables. Means by which local academic practices engaged with global developments in the arts and sciences through examination of primarily early modern material and intellectual culture in and around Oxfordshire. Assessments of quality, meaning, usage, cultural significance and the reception of material ¿treasures¿ in the storage rooms, vaults, and on display in museums, galleries, and libraries.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
OSPPARIS 30:
The Avant Garde in France through Literature, Art, and Theater
Multiple artistic trends and esthetic theories from Baudelaire to the Nouveau Roman, from the Surrealists to Oulipo, from the theater of cruelty to the theater of the absurd, from the Impressionists to Yves Klein. Interdisciplinary approach to reflect on the meaning of avant garde and modernity in general, and on the question of why revolutionary artists in France remained in search of institutional recognition, nonetheless.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPPARIS 54:
The Artist's World: The Workshop, Patronage and Public in 19th and 20th Century France
Synergy between artists, their workshops, patrons, models and the public in 19th and 20th century France. Weekly sessions in museums, artists' studios, and special venues within and around Paris, attempting to understand the world of the artist, and how, in many cases, this world became not only a place of refuge, but a metaphor of the artistic creation itself.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPPARIS 70:
Realist Paris, Romantic Paris
Introduction to French literature about Paris during the middle decades of the 19th century when the city was an icon of Western modernity. How did literature both represent the city's political, cultural, and social innovations (realist Paris) - and create fantasies of Paris, romanticizing new urban life and/or the lost past. How did the Paris imagined by writers relate to the historical city? How did literature imagine a new type of individual, freed from old-fashioned social constraints? Who were the heroes - and anti-heroes? Visits to museums with art and historical imagery from the era.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
OSPPARIS 72:
The Ceilings of Paris
Seventeenth century transformation of the ceilings of Paris, private and public. Itinerary of this transformation from artists' initial drawings to their finished work. Under the guidance of the curator of 17th century French Drawings in the Louvre Museum, study the original drawings as well as the venues in and around Paris. Sites vary from the most illustrious (Versailles) to the lesser known (Hotel Lauzun). Reflection on the changing social and political aspirations as represented in these new artistic forms. Language of instruction: French.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
OSPPARIS 92:
Building Paris: Its History, Architecture, and Urban Design
The development of Parisian building and architecture from the 17th century to the present. Interaction of tradition and innovation in its transformation and its historical, political, and cultural underpinnings. Visits and case studies throughout Paris illustrate the formation of the city landscape and its culture.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
OSPPARIS 186F:
Contemporary African Literature in French
Focus is on African writers and those of the diaspora, bound together by a common history of slave trade, bondage, colonization, and racism. Their works belong to the past, seeking to save an oral heritage of proverbs, story tales, and epics, but they are also contemporary.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPSANTG 14:
Women Writers of Latin America in the 20th Century
Key figures in poetry, narrative fiction, theater, and testimonio, such as Mistral, Garro, Lispector, Poniatowska, Valenzuela, Eltit and Menchú. Close reading technique. Issues raised in literary texts that reflect the evolution of the condition of women in Latin America during the period. Topics include gender differences and relationships, tradition versus transgression, relationship between changes in the status of women and other egalitarian transformations, and women writers and the configuration of literary canons.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
OSPSANTG 30:
Short Latin American Fiction of the 20th Century
Introduction to short narrative fiction produced in Latin America during the 20th Century. Key features of the short story genre, as defined by Chekhov in the 19th Century and redefined by Kafka and Borges in the 20th Century. Main literary movements of the period in Latin America, including Regionalism, Social Realism, the Avant-Garde, the Boom of the 1960s and Magical Realism, the Post-Boom, etc. Close reading course with strong emphasis on analysis and discussion of the required texts. Readings placed in the context of the main developments in Latin American history and culture in the period.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 1:
Introduction to Philosophy
Is there one truth or many? Does science tell us everything there is to know? Can our minds be purely physical? Do we have free will? Is faith rational? Should we always be rational? What is the meaning of life? Are there moral truths? What are truth, reality, rationality, and knowledge? How can such questions be answered? Intensive introduction to theories and techniques in philosophy from various contemporary traditions. Students must enroll in lecture AND and one of the discussion sections listed.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 2:
Introduction to Moral Philosophy (ETHICSOC 20)
What should I do with my life? What kind of person should I be? How should we treat others? What makes actions right or wrong? What is good and what is bad? What should we value? How should we organize society? Is there any reason to be moral? Is morality relative or subjective? How, if at all, can such questions be answered? Intensive introduction to theories and techniques in contemporary moral philosophy.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 28:
The Literature and Philosophy of Place
Literature and philosophy, primarily, but not exclusively from Latin America, that raises questions about place and displacement through migration and exile, about how location shapes our understanding of ourselves and of our responsibilities to society and environment, about the multiple meanings of home. Among the questions we will consider are the difference between the experiences of people who are at "home" and those who are "away," how one person's claim on home can be another's experience of being invaded, the interdependence of self and place, the multiple meanings of "environment." Readings by Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, Carmen Lyra, Jorge Gracia, Otavio Paz, Maria Lugones, among others.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
PHIL 60:
Introduction to Philosophy of Science (HPS 60)
This course introduces students to tools for the philosophical analysis of science. We will cover issues in observation, experiment, and reasoning, questions about the aims of science, scientific change, and the relations between science and values.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 80:
Mind, Matter, and Meaning
Intensive study of central topics in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language and mind in preparation for advanced courses in philosophy. Emphasis on development of analytical writing skills. Prerequisite: one prior course in Philosophy or permission of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors: ;
Lawlor, K. (PI);
Warren, J. (PI);
Kim, R. (TA);
McGuthry, M. (TA);
Pistol, L. (TA);
Simon, A. (TA);
Turman, J. (TA);
Wang, Y. (TA);
Wong-Taylor, G. (TA);
Woodworth, S. (TA)
PHIL 81:
Philosophy and Literature (CLASSICS 42, COMPLIT 181, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, ITALIAN 181, SLAVIC 181)
What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 100:
Greek Philosophy (CLASSICS 40)
We shall cover the major developments in Greek philosophical thought, focusing on Plato, Aristotle, and the Hellenistic schools (the Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Skeptics). Topics include epistemology, metaphysics, psychology, ethics and political theory. No prereqs, not repeatable.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 101A:
History of Philosophy from Al-Kindi to Averroes (GLOBAL 139)
The rise of Islam saw a flourishing of philosophical and scientific activity across Islamic civilizations from Central Asia to Spain. Between the 7th to 13th centuries, many of the major philosophers in the history of philosophy lived in the Muslim world and wrote in Arabic. They saw themselves, just as later philosophers in medieval Europe, as working in part in the same tradition as Plato and Aristotle. This course surveys this important chapter in the history of philosophy, examining the key philosophical problems, analyses, arguments and ideas developed by philosophers such as Al-Kindi, Al-Razi, Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Al-Ghazali and Averroes, as well as their views on the role and aims of philosophy itself. We will look closely at their writings (in English translation) on philosophical topics in mind, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and politics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
PHIL 102:
Modern Philosophy, Descartes to Kant
Major figures in early modern philosophy in epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. Writings by Descartes, Leibniz, Hume, and Kant.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 108:
Aristotle's Metaphysics Book Alpha (PHIL 208)
An introduction both to Aristotle's own metaphysics and to his treatment of his predecessors on causality, included the early Ionian cosmologists, atomism, Pythagoreans, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and Plato. Prerequisite: one course in ancient Greek philosophy.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
PHIL 125:
Kant's First Critique (PHIL 225)
(Graduate students register for 225.) The founding work of Kant's critical philosophy emphasizing his contributions to metaphysics and epistemology. His attempts to limit metaphysics to the objects of experience. Prerequisite: course dealing with systematic issues in metaphysics or epistemology, or with the history of modern philosophy.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 133S:
Heidegger (RELIGST 181)
A close reading of Heidegger's Being and Time in light of the new paradigm for reading his work, as well as a study of his long-standing interest in mysticism and the question of the divine.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
PHIL 137:
Wittgenstein (PHIL 237)
(Graduate students register for 237.) An exploration of Wittgenstein's changing views about meaning, mind, knowledge, and the nature of philosophical perplexity and philosophical insight, focusing on the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 165:
Philosophy of Physics: Space, Time and Motion (PHIL 265)
Graduate students register for 265. The problem of absolute vs. relative motion from Descartes, Newton and Leibniz to Einstein and beyond. The principle of relativity: space and time to space-time. Mach¿s critique of Newton, his agenda to relativize inertia and its influence on Einstein in formulating the general theory of relativity. Space-time substantivalism and relationalism. The seeming conflict of determinism and general covariance in Einstein¿s Lochbetrachtung. ¿Background independence¿ as a requirement for fundamental physical theory.nNOTE: Phil 165/265 alternates topics yearly between "Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics" and "Philosophical Problems of Space, Time and Motion". The course may be repeated with a different subject matter. nnIn Winter 2017-18, the subject is ""Philosophical Issues in QM"nnI. TOPICS: After introducing a simplified version of Dirac's 'bra-ket' vector space formalism for the quantum state (a.k.a. function), the first third of the term is a historical overview of Heisenberg's uncertainty relations, wave-particle duality, the problem of quantum measurement, and the non-classical nature of spin. We survey the treatment of these issues within Bohr's doctrine of complementarity and the so-called Copenhagen interpretation of QM. We review Einstein's several arguments for the incompleteness of QM, leading up to the famous EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paper of 1935, the resulting issue of quantum entanglement as discussed by Einstein and Schrödinger, and the complexities of Bohr's response to EPR. In the second third of the term, we examine a well-known 'no go' theorem on EPR-type experimental set-ups stemming from Bell in the 1960s, according to which no hidden variables theory satisfying a certain locality condition (apparently assumed by EPR) can reproduce all the predictions of QM. In the last third, we survey current variations of, or interpretive options for, standard QM: Bohmian mechanics (a.k.a. pilot wave theory), spontaneous collapse theories, and Everett's relative-state interpretation with its many worlds/ many minds variants. We end by scrutinizing the recent decoherence program (a.k.a.localization induced by the scattering of environmental particles) that purports to explain the quantum-to-classical transition, i.e., the emergence of the world of classical physics and macroscopic objects and properties from quantum physics. We consider whether decoherence is justifiably viewed as solving the quantum measurement problem. nnII. PREREQUISITES: No detailed knowledge of quantum physics or advanced mathematics is presumed. Some background in philosophy, natural science or mathematics will be helpful. Students will benefit from possession of a modicum of mathematical maturity (roughly equivalent to a familiarity with elementary single-variable calculus or the metatheory of first-order logic).
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SMA
| Repeatable
for credit
PHIL 167A:
Philosophy of Biology (PHIL 267A)
(Graduate students register for 267A.) Evolutionary theory and in particular, on characterizing natural selection and how it operates. We examine debates about fitness, whether selection is a cause or force, the levels at which selection operates, and whether cultural evolution is a Darwinian process. Prerequisites: one PHIL course and either one BIO course or Human Biology core; or equivalent with consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 167D:
Philosophy of Neuroscience (PHIL 267D, SYMSYS 167D)
How can we explain the mind? With approaches ranging from computational models to cellular-level characterizations of neural responses to the characterization of behavior, neuroscience aims to explain how we see, think, decide, and even feel. While these approaches have been highly successful in answering some kinds of questions, they have resulted in surprisingly little progress in others. We'll look at the relationships between the neuroscientific enterprise, philosophical investigations of the nature of the mind, and our everyday experiences as creatures with minds. Prerequisite: PHIL 80.n(Not open to freshmen.)
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 170:
Ethical Theory (ETHICSOC 170, PHIL 270)
This course serves as a rigorous introduction to moral philosophy for students with little or no background. We will examine ideas from four important figures in moral thought: Plato, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill. Each of these philosophers played an integral role in the development of moral philosophy, because each offers thoughtful, compelling answers to some of the discipline's most central questions. These questions include: What is involved in being a good person or living a good life? What should we value, and why? How are we motivated by morality? How (if at all) is morality a matter of what is customary or conventional? How (much) do the consequences of our actions matter? Importantly, this course is not only about learning what others have thought about the answers to these (and related) questions. By considering and criticizing the ideas and arguments of these philosophers, the aim is to cultivate our own ability to think systematically, rationally, and reflectively, and to make up our own minds about how to answer these kinds of questions.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 170B:
Metaphor (PHIL 270B)
In metaphor we think and talk about two things at once: two different subject matters are mingled to rich and unpredictable effect. A close critical study of the main modern accounts of metaphor's nature and interest, drawing on the work of writers, linguists, philosophers, and literary critics. Attention to how understanding, appreciation, and pleasure connect with one another in the experience of metaphor. Consideration of the possibility that metaphor or something very like it occurs in nonverbal media: gesture, dance, painting, music.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 172:
History of Modern Moral Philosophy (ETHICSOC 172, PHIL 272)
A critical exploration of some of the main forms of systematic moral theorizing in Western philosophy from Hobbes onward and their roots in ancient ethical thought. Prerequistes are some prior familiarity with utilitarianism and Kantian ethics and a demonstrated interest in philosophy.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 175:
Philosophy of Law
This course will explore foundational questions about the nature of law, including questions about the relationship between law and morality. Topics to be discussed include the following: a) the foundations of legal authority, b) legal reasoning and argument, and c) the nature of persistent legal disputes (e.g., disputes about how to best interpret the US constitution). We will focus on contemporary work on these topics, including work by Scott Shapiro, Joseph Raz, Ronald Dworkin, David Enoch, Connie Rosati, and Mark Greenberg. Prerequisite: PHIL 80.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 176:
Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition (ETHICSOC 176, PHIL 276, POLISCI 137A, POLISCI 337A)
(Graduate students register for 276.) Why and under what conditions do human beings need political institutions? What makes them legitimate or illegitimate? What is the nature, source, and extent of the obligation to obey the legitimate ones, and how should people alter or overthrow the others? Study of the answers given to such questions by major political theorists of the early modern period: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 176A:
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 181, CLASSICS 381, ETHICSOC 130A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 133/333.) Political philosophy in classical antiquity, focusing on canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Historical background. Topics include: political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; and law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 179A:
Feminist and Queer Theories and Methods Across the Disciplines (FEMGEN 103, FEMGEN 203, PHIL 279A)
(Graduate Students register for PHIL 279A or FEMGEN 203) This course is an opportunity to explore the difference feminist and queer perspectives make in creative arts, humanities, and social science research.nPrerequisites: Feminist Studies 101 or equivalent with consent of instructor.nNOTE: This course must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for WAYS credit. The 2 unit option is for graduate students only.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
PHIL 180:
Metaphysics
This is an undergraduate only class. Intensive introduction to core topics in contemporary metaphysics. What is the fundamental structure of reality? Is it objective? How can there be truths about what is possible or necessary, if only the actual exists? Do we have free will? What is it for an event to be determined by its causes? Is the only thing that exists the current instance of time? Is the world purely physical? Does science answer all of these questions? Prerequisites: 1, 80 and background in logic.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 181B:
Topics in Philosophy of Language (PHIL 281B)
This course builds on the material of 181/281, focusing on debates and developments in the pragmatics of conversation, the semantics/pragmatics distinction, the contextuality of meaning, the nature of truth and its connection to meaning, and the workings of particular linguistic constructions of special philosophical relevance. Students who have not taken 181/281 should seek the instructor's advice as to whether they have sufficient background.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 12 units total)
PHIL 184:
Epistemology (PHIL 284)
This is an advanced introduction to core topics in epistemology -- the philosophical study of human knowledge. Questions covered will include: What is knowledge? Can we know anything outside our own minds? Must all knowledge rest on secure foundations? Does knowing something require knowing that you know it? What are the connections between knowledge and rationality? Does 'knowledge' mean the same in the philosophy classroom as it does in everyday life? Prerequisite Phil 80 or consent of the instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 185:
Theory of Understanding (PHIL 285)
This course will survey some of the ongoing work on understanding in philosophy and psychology. The questions considered will include: What exactly is understanding? How does understanding differ from knowledge of commonplace facts? What are the different forms understanding takes (e.g. scientific, social, historical, aesthetic, etc), and how are the different forms of understanding related? Is there such a thing as implicit understanding?
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 186:
Philosophy of Mind (PHIL 286)
(Graduate students register for 286.) This is an advanced introduction to core topics in the philosophy of mind. Prerequisite: PHIL 80
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 193C:
Film & Philosophy (COMPLIT 154A, ENGLISH 154F, FRENCH 154, ITALIAN 154, PHIL 293C)
Issues of authenticity, morality, personal identity, and the value of truth explored through film; philosophical investigation of the filmic medium itself. Screenings to include Blade Runner (Scott), Do The Right Thing (Lee), The Seventh Seal (Bergman), Fight Club (Fincher), La Jetée (Marker), Memento (Nolan), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Kaufman). Taught in English.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 194H:
Capstone Seminar: Self-knowledge and Consciousness
Capstone seminar for the major. What is it for a mental state to be introspectively accessible, which mental states fall in this category, how does the capacity for introspection yield (self-)knowledge, and what is the relationship between introspection and consciousness? This seminar explores these questions through in-class discussions, reading and writing.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
PHIL 194P:
Naming and Necessity
Saul Kripke's lectures on reference, modal metaphysics, and the mind/body problem.
Last offered: Spring 2010
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
PHIL 194W:
Capstone Seminar: Literature and the Moral Imagination
Literature is often hailed for its ability to expand our moral horizons and to make us better, more empathetic people. But is literature actually able to do these things? If it is, is it unique in its power to do so? How can reading a work of creative fiction improve us in real life? Can reading literature ever make us worse? This course is an investigation into these and related questions, which special attention given to the ways that literature can (and cannot) engage the moral imagination. Readings will alternate between contemporary philosophical articles on the relation between literature, ethics, and the moral imagination, and classic and contemporary works of literature that engage the moral imagination in different ways. Some background in aesthetics, ethics, and/or the philosophy of literature is preferred, but not required. (This is a capstone seminar for philosophy majors and students pursuing the Philosophy & Literature concentration. Other students are welcome to enroll, but preference will be given to students in these groups.)
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
POLISCI 31N:
Political Freedom: Rights, Justice, and Democracy in the Western Tradition
Freedom is one of our core values. Most people can agree that freedom is a good thing. Yet there is far less agreement about how to understand the concept itself and what kinds of political arrangements are best suited to protect and enhance freedom. Is freedom about being left alone? Undertaking action with others? Participating in governance? Does freedom require a limited state? An active and interventionist government? A robustly participatory political system? How is freedom connected to other political values, like justice and equality? This seminar will consider and evaluate some of the most controversial and challenging answers that have been given to these questions by canonical thinkers like John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx, as well as by more contemporary political and legal thinkers like Jeremy Waldron and Cass Sunstein. We will also examine how questions about the nature of freedom play out on college campuses and in the courts.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
POLISCI 124A:
The American West (AMSTUD 124A, ARTHIST 152, ENGLISH 124, HISTORY 151)
The American West is characterized by frontier mythology, vast distances, marked aridity, and unique political and economic characteristics. This course integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of Western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges. Students examine themes fundamental to understanding the region: time, space, water, peoples, and boom and bust cycles.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
POLISCI 131L:
Modern Political Thought: Machiavelli to Marx and Mill (ETHICSOC 131S)
This course offers an introduction to the history of Western political thought from the late fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries. We will consider the development of ideas like individual rights, government by consent, and the protection of private property. We will also explore the ways in which these ideas continue to animate contemporary political debates. Thinkers covered will include: Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
POLISCI 137A:
Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition (ETHICSOC 176, PHIL 176, PHIL 276, POLISCI 337A)
(Graduate students register for 276.) Why and under what conditions do human beings need political institutions? What makes them legitimate or illegitimate? What is the nature, source, and extent of the obligation to obey the legitimate ones, and how should people alter or overthrow the others? Study of the answers given to such questions by major political theorists of the early modern period: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
POLISCI 230A:
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 181, CLASSICS 381, ETHICSOC 130A, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 330A)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 133/333.) Political philosophy in classical antiquity, focusing on canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Historical background. Topics include: political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; and law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PSYC 82:
The Literature of Psychosis (ANTHRO 82P, HUMBIO 162L, PSYC 282)
One of the great gifts of literature is its ability to give us insight into the internal worlds of others. This is particularly true of that state clinicians call "psychosis." But psychosis is a complex concept. It can be terrifying and devastating for patients and families, and yet shares characteristics with other, less pathological states, such as mysticism and creativity. How then can we begin to make sense of it? In this course, we will examine the first-hand experience of psychosis. We will approach it from multiple perspectives, including clinical descriptions, works of art, and texts by writers ranging from Shakespeare, to the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, to patients attempting to describe their experience. This class is not only for students thinking of careers in medicine, psychology or anthropology, but also readers and writers interested exploring extraordinary texts. There are no prerequisites necessary; all that is needed is a love of language and a curiosity about the secrets of other minds.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
PWR 91CW:
Intermediate Writing: Seeing is Believing
In this course, students will study and practice techniques and rhetorics of data visualization based on principles of rhetorical history, visual rhetorics and graphic design as well as cognitive science, design thinking, and other disciplines that inform critical conversations around information display and data visualization. For more information visit https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/additional-elective-courses/seeing-isand-believing-rhetoric-big-data-visualization.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
PWR 194AJ:
Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: Contemporary Black Rhetorics: Black Twitter and Black Digital Cultures (AFRICAAM 194)
Does not fulfill NSC requirement. This course will examine Black engagements with digital culture as sites for community building, social action and individual and collective identity formation. By studying phenomena like #BlackTwitter, memes, Vine, selfie culture, blogging, "social watching," and more, we will explore how Black technology use addresses questions like identity performance and expression, hyper visibility and invisibility of Black lives, Black feminisms, misogynoir and Black women/femme leadership in social movements, the roles and influence of Black Queer cultures online, and social activism and movements in online spaces. nnFrom #YouOKSis, #BlackLivesMatter and #AfroLatinidad to the Clapback, roasts and "reads," we will work from the serious to the silly, from individuals to collectives, from activism to everyday life, and from distinct Black cultures to diasporic connections and exchange. Participants in the course will create a social media autobiography, a "read/ing" of a Black cultural practice or phenomenon online, host an online discussion, and prepare a pitch for a longer research project they might pursue as a thesis or an ongoing study. Bring your GIFs, memes, and emoji, and a willingness to be in community both online and off for this new course! Prerequisite: first level of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
PWR 194BR:
Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: The Rhetoric of Health and Medicine
This course will aim to give students a foundation in the rhetoric of health and medicine across major stakeholders researchers, government, institutions, doctors, patients, journalists, and a general public obsessed with health and wellness. For example, we will analyze key theories about the relation of institutions, doctors, and patients, from Foucault's Birth of the Clinic to Rita Charon's Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness. We will also investigate how patients make sense of their illnesses through art and memoirs, how doctors are trained in an empathetic bedside manner, and the rhetoric of medical breakthroughs. From this foundation, students will choose an issue to tackle in their own research projects, from the politicization of Planned Parenthood and women's healthcare, to the experience of trans patients seeking care, to the rhetoric of access vs. coverage in current debates about health insurance. Prerequisite: completion of WR-1 & WR-2 req or permission of instructor. For full description, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/additional-elective-courses/rhetoric-health-and-medicine
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PWR 194CW:
Brave New Worlds: An Introduction to (De)colonial Rhetorics
Since the time of Columbus, colonial agendas and policies have engendered their own rhetorics of justification and explanation. After all, European modernism began with the encounter of the New World, and Europe¿s own identity was forged in the process of ¿Latinization¿ of the Western Hemisphere. In response, decoloniality arose as a rich intellectual critique in the late 1990s in South America and the Caribbean. Decolonial rhetorical traditions stand in a unique position vis-à-vis the development of modernity, colonialism, racialized identities, the crisis of European reason, and the dawn of globalization. In an era of Trumpism, in which European modernity once again justifies restricting the mobility and freedom of Latinx immigrants, among other ethnic groups, perhaps no other form of intellectual critique seems quite so urgent. This course introduces students to primary decolonial rhetorical texts and asks students to apply these insights to pressing contemporary challenges by practicing deep reading of primary and secondary texts, preparing group presentations, and exploring creative acts of composition with an eye toward imagining brave new worlds and the decolonial rhetorical practices valued therein.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
PWR 194KT:
Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: The Last Hopi On Earth: The Rhetoric of Entertainment Inequity (CSRE 194KT)
While #OscarsSoWhite brought attention to the Academy's overwhelmingly White, male membership, the underbelly of the entertainment industry itself is rife with inequitable hiring of not only on-camera and on-stage performers but also directors, writers, and others behind the scenes. While there are several organizations from Racebending.com to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media that seek to usher in more equitable representation, push back against the Industry's disparate employment practices has been documented for more than fifty years with what many argue is not proportionally positive movement. White males still garner almost half of all theatrical and television roles and represent more than 80% of episodic directors while entertainment hubs Los Angeles and New York City are more than 50% people of color and female. What will it take to attain equity in the entertainment industry? Why does it matter? nnIn this course, students will examine rhetorical issues in promoting, defending, and opposing entertainment industry practices - writing and speaking across genres in persuasive response - and ultimately develop a collaborative 5-year strategic plan to usher in equity.n nThis course is part of the PWR advanced elective track in Social and Racial Justice (SRJ). Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For video course description, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-courses/last-hopi-earth-rhetoric-entertainment-inequity.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
PWR 194SB:
Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Rhetoric of Science
Understanding rhetoric as readers and interpreters of texts and to develop skills as writers and speakers. Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
REES 145D:
Jewish American Literature (AMSTUD 145D, ENGLISH 145D, JEWISHST 155D)
From its inception, Jewish-American literature has taken as its subject as well as its context the idea of Jewishness itself. Jewish culture is a diasporic one, and for this reason the concept of Jewishness differs from country to country and across time. What stays remarkably similar, though, is Jewish self-perception and relatedly Jewish literary style. This is as true for the first-generation immigrant writers like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Anzia Yezierska who came to the United States from abroad as it is for their second-generation children born in the United States, and the children of those children. In this course, we will consider the difficulties of displacement for the emigrant generation and their efforts to sustain their cultural integrity in the multicultural American environment. We'll also examine the often comic revolt of their American-born children and grandchildren against their (grand-)parents nostalgia and failure to assimilate. Only by considering these transnational roots can one understand the particularity of the Jewish-American novel in relation to mainstream and minority American literatures. In investigating the link between American Jewish writers and their literary progenitors, we will draw largely but not exclusively from Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 2:
Is Stanford a Religion?
This course seeks to introduce students to the study of religion by posing a two-part question: What is a religion, and does Stanford qualify as one? Scientific, pragmatic, seemingly secular, Stanford may not seem at all similar to religions like Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism, but a deeper look reveals that it has many of the qualities of religion--origin stories, rituals and ceremonies, sacred spaces and times, visions of the future, even some spirits. By learning some of the theories and methods of the field of religious studies, students will gain a better understanding not just of Stanford culture but of what motivates people to be religious, the roles religion plays in people's lives, and the similarities and differences between religious and secular culture.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
RELIGST 6N:
Religion in Anime and Manga
Religious themes and topoi are ubiquitous in Japanese anime and manga. In this course, we will examine how religions are represented in these new media and study the role of religions in contemporary Japan. By doing this, students will also learn fundamental concepts of Buddhism and Shinto.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 8N:
Gardens and Sacred Space in Japan
This seminar will explore gardens and sacred spaces in Japan. We will study the development of Japanese garden design from the earliest records to contemporary Japan. We will especially focus on the religious, aesthetic, and social dimensions of gardens and sacred spaces. This seminar features a fieldtrip to a Japanese garden in the area, in order to study how Japanese garden design was adapted in North America.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
RELIGST 9N:
What Didn't Make it into the Bible (CLASSICS 9N, JEWISHST 9N)
Over two billion people alive today consider the Bible to be sacred scripture. But how did the books that made it into the bible get there in the first place? Who decided what was to be part of the bible and what wasn't? How would history look differently if a given book didn't make the final cut and another one did? Hundreds of ancient Jewish and Christian texts are not included in the Bible. ¿What Didn't Make It in the Bible¿ focuses on these excluded writings. We will explore the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient romance novels, explore the adventures of fallen angels who sired giants (and taught humans about cosmetics), tour heaven and hell, encounter the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history. It is designed for students who are part of faith traditions that consider the bible to be sacred, as well as those who are not. The only prerequisite is an interest in exploring books, groups, and ideas that eventually lost the battles of history and to keep asking the question "why." In critically examining these ancient narratives and the communities that wrote them, you will learn about the content and history of the Bible, better appreciate the diversity of early Judaism and Christianity, understand the historical context of these religions, and explore the politics behind what did and did not make it into the bible.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
RELIGST 26:
The Bible and its Interpreters
Introduction to major stories, figures, and themes of the Christian Bible and their retellings in theological writing, art, literature, film, and music throughout the ages.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
RELIGST 31:
The Religious Life of Things
Temples, prayer beads, icons, robes, books, relics, candles and incense, scarves and hats, sacred food and holy water; objects of all sorts play a prominent role in all religions, evoking a wide range of emotional responses, from reverence, solace and even ecstasy, to fear, hostility and violence. What is it about these things that makes them so powerful? Is it beliefs and doctrines that inspire particular attitudes towards certain objects, or is it the other way around? Many see a tension or even contradiction between religion and material pursuits and argue that the true religious life is a life without things. But is such a life even possible? This course adopts a comparative approach, drawing on a variety of traditions to examine the place of images, food, clothing, ritual objects, architecture and relics in religious thought and practice. Materials for the course include scholarship, scripture, images and at least one museum visit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 32:
Spiritualism and the Occult
T.W. Stanford, Leland Jr¿s uncle, was on the original board of trustees for Stanford, and his will left money for founding psychic studies at Stanford. His apports, or occult séance objects are now in the University collections and he claimed to speak with Leland Jr. after his death through a séance encounter. The Stanfords were far from alone in engaging in occult practices. Millions of people in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries described themselves as spiritualist. Far from being the rejection of science, this movement saw itself--and often was seen by others¿as the forefront of scientific inquiry. From spirit rapping to telepathy, its practitioners often drew a thin line between physics and metaphysics mixing the most recent technological innovations with traditions as diverse as Christianity, Jewish Kabbala, Buddhism, and Jainism.nnnOur class will examine spirit photographs allegedly capturing images of dead relatives (and Satan himself), explore novels about outer space travel enabled by electrical beverages, read the account of a walking and talking seance table named "Mary Jane," and handle artifacts that TW Stanford used to communicate across the astral plane and beyond the grave. These sources will immerse us in a technologically modernizing world experiencing a new wave of global empires, a world in which spiritualists blend Eastern and Western mystical concepts, hitch spiritual understanding to the emerging prestige of the scientific, and focus on the unseen, inner, and mystical as the new frontier awaiting full revelation.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
RELIGST 53:
Exploring Jewish Spirituality (JEWISHST 53)
It was once accepted as fact that Judaism is a purely rational religion devoid of any authentic mystical tradition. But the past century of scholarship has reversed this claim, demonstrating that the spiritual life has been integral to Judaism's vital heart since ancient times. This yearning for a direct immediate experience of God's Presence, a longing to grasp the mysteries of the human soul and know the inner dynamics of the Divine realm, has taken on many different forms across the centuries. This course will introduce students to the major texts and core ideas of Jewish mysticism and spirituality, tracking their development from the Hebrew Bible to the present day. Close attention will be paid to the sources¿ historical context, and we will also engage with broader methodological questions regarding the academic study of religion and the comparative approach to mysticism.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
RELIGST 55:
Exploring Zen Buddhism
This course is an introduction to Chan/Zen Buddhism. We will study the historical and doctrinal development of this tradition in China and Japan and examine various facets of Zen, such as the philosophy, practices, rituals, culture, and institution. For this aim, we will read and discuss classical Zen texts in translation and important secondary literature. This class will further feature a visit of a Zen teacher, who will give an introduction to sitting meditation.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 56:
Exploring Chinese Religions
An overview of major themes and historical developments in 5000 years of Chinese religion. In this course, we will try as much as possible to appreciate Chinese religion from the Chinese perspective, paying particular attention to original texts in translation in an attempt to discern the logic of Chinese religion and the role it has played in the course of Chinese history. To a greater extent perhaps than any other civilization, Chinese have left behind a continuous body of written documents and other artifacts relating to religion stretching over thousands of years, providing a wealth of material for studying the place of religion in history and society.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 61:
Exploring Islam
This course introduces some of the most important features of the Islamic religious tradition. It explores the different ways in which Muslims have interpreted and practiced their religion. The main subjects of discussion --- including the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur¿an, law, ritual, mysticism, theology, politics, and art --- will be considered with reference to their proper historical contexts. Some of the topics covered include abortion, gender, rebellion and violence, and the visual vocabulary of paintings. Students will be exposed to important theories and methods in the academic study of religion. No prior knowledge is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 86:
Exploring the New Testament (CLASSICS 43, JEWISHST 86)
To explore the historical context of the earliest Christians, students will read most of the New Testament as well as many documents that didn't make the final cut. Non-Christian texts, Roman art, and surviving archeological remains will better situate Christianity within the ancient world. Students will read from the Dead Sea Scrolls, explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing divine temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse an ancient marriage guide, and engage with recent scholarship in archeology, literary criticism, and history.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
RELIGST 114:
Yoga Ancient and Modern
Originating in ancient India, yoga went through many developments over more than 4000 years in India and other parts of Asia. Having migrated to Euro-America in the late nineteenth century, today yoga is everywhere--studios, schools, gyms, malls, resorts, ashrams, retreat centers. It comes in many flavors¿austere, with meditative instructors and Sanskrit chants; stylish, in 105-degree heat, with portable-miked instructors loudly motivating students to go through poses with speed and intensity; niche-crafted to meet the needs of busy professionals, pregnant women, senior citizens, or people with back problems. It may appear as a spiritual path or as a heavily marketed commodity. It generates lawsuits as teachers dispute ownership of certain styles, or as some Americans oppose its teaching yoga in public schools. In the first half of the course we will study the history of yoga in India, reading primary texts composed between about 500 BCE and 1600 CE. In the second half we will learn about yoga's globalization in the last century. Participating in a yoga class is recommended. 2 units of independent study (S-NC) are offered for those who participate in a weekly yoga class and write short reflections on the experience.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 117:
Christianity in 21st-century America (AMSTUD 117R)
As the largest religion practiced in the United States, Christianity not only shapes the lives of a large number of its citizens but also impinges on public discourse, policies, and debates. This course investigates the ways in which Christianity in America is changing and what these changes bode for its role in the public and private spheres. Issues include shifting demographics lead to declining numbers in 'mainline' denominations; the polarization of Christian conservatives and religious 'nones'; interfaith toleration and cooperation alongside interreligious conflict; the rise of 'spiritual, not religious' young adults; the effects of immigration; religion and science.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 123:
The Hindu Epics and the Ethics of Dharma (CLASSICS 125, COMPLIT 193)
The two great Hindu Epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, offer a sustained reflection on the nature of virtuous living in the face of insoluble ethical dilemmas. Their treatment of the concept of dharma, understood simultaneously as ethical action and the universal order that upholds the cosmos, lies at the heart of both Gandhian non-violent resistance and communalist interreligious conflict. This course will focus on a reading of selections from the Epics in English translation, supplemented with a consideration of how the texts have been interpreted in South Asian literary history and contemporary politics and public life in India.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
RELIGST 126:
Protestant Reformation (HISTORY 126B)
The emergence of Protestant Christianity in 16th-century Europe. Analysis of writings by evangelical reformers (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Sattler, Hubmeier, Müntzer) and study of reform movements (Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Spiritualist) in their medieval context and as expressions of new and influential visions of Christian belief, life, social order.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
RELIGST 129:
Milk and Honey, Wine and Blood: Food, Justice, and Ethnic Identity in Jewish Culture (JEWISHST 129A)
This course examines Jewish culture and the food practices and traditions that have shaped and continue to shape it. Students learn to prepare a variety of meals while studying about the historical and literary traditions associated with them, such as the dietary `laws¿ and the long history of their interpretation, as well as the cultivation of eating as devotional practice in Jewish mystical traditions. We will explore how regional foods the world over contribute to the formation of distinct Jewish ethnic identities, and how these traditions shape contemporary Jewish food ethics. The course includes guest visits by professional chefs and food writers, and field trips to a local winery.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 133:
Muslims, Jews, and Christians: Conflict, Coexistence, and Collaboration (JEWISHST 123)
Relationships between Muslims, Jews, and Christians today are informed by a multitude of complex and often painful histories. These faith traditions emerged out of deep and sustained engagement with one another sharing theological and ethical principles, and revering many of the same figures and there have been many periods of rich and productive interaction. Yet there have also been areas of dissension and conflict, and periods when theological, social, or political disagreement devolved into violence and oppression. In recent times (especially following the Holocaust and the establishment of the modern State of Israel), religious, political, and intellectual leaders of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities, in the U.S. and around the world, have recognized the need to forge deeper and more meaningful relationships with one another. Knowledge and understanding of the perspectives that different communities and individuals bring to bear on their entangled past, present, and future are a critical part of efforts to resolve intransigent conflicts and advance mutual interests. This course explores some of the most significant moments of interaction through literature and art, polemic and dialogue that have shaped engagements between Muslims, Jews, and Christians throughout history, and examines both prospects and pitfalls for engagement in the present and future.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 144:
John Calvin and Christian Faith
Close reading and analysis of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion as a classic expression of Christian belief.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
RELIGST 165:
Modern Jewish Mystics: Devotion in a Secular Age (JEWISHST 125)
The twentieth-century was a time of tremendous upheaval and unspeakable tragedy for the Jewish communities of Europe. But the past hundred years were also a period of great renewal for Jewish spirituality, a renaissance that has continued into the present day. We will explore the mystic writings of figures from the Safed Renaissance, the Hasidic masters, with a particular focus on the works of Martin Buber, Hillel Zeitlin, Abraham Isaac Kook, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Arthur Green. We will examine their teachings in light of the challenges of the two World Wars, the Holocaust, and the processes of modernity and secularism. Consideration will be made of the unique cultural contexts of modern Israel and contemporary America.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 166:
The Divine Feminine in India (FEMGEN 166)
What happens when God is a woman? Is the Goddess a feminist? The Goddess, in her numerous incarnations, is foundational to much of Indian religiosity, whether Hindu, Buddhist, or even Jain¿and in turn, without her story, much of the theology and practice of these religions remains incomprehensible. This course examines the principal expressions of the theology and ritual worship of the Goddess in Indian history, from the Vedas to the Hindu Epics, to Indian philosophy, tantric ritual practice and modern global and new age movements in order to understand how the gendering of divinity affects theological speculation, religious experience, and embodied religious identity.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 169:
Sacred Words: Jewish Thought and the Question of Language (JEWISHST 129)
Jews have long been referred as the people of the book, but they might better be referred to as the people of the word. Drawing upon texts from the Hebrew Bible to the works of modern Hebrew writers like of Hayyim Nahman Bialik and Amoz Oz, this seminar will chart the development of Jewish thinking on language over the past two millennia. We will explore issues such as: the idea of canonization; oral versus written language; the nature and possibility of translation; the origins of language; notions of negative theology; mystical approaches to the word; the rebirth of Hebrew as a spoken and cultural language; and the limits of language after the Holocaust. This course will also bring Jewish thought into dialogue with contemporary philosophical reflections on issues of language. Modern explorations of language will prove an interesting way of deepening our understanding of the Jewish thinkers on one hand, and enriching contemporary intellectual discourse on the other.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
RELIGST 180:
Gender Relations in Islam (FEMGEN 180)
This course investigates the ways in which gender identities and relationships between men and women have been articulated, constructed, and refashioned throughout the Muslim world. Starting with problematizing the fixed notions of gender and sexuality, we map the attitudes toward these notions through visiting a diverse array of sources from the Qur¿an, Sunna, and legal documents to historical and anthropological case studies, literature, and film from South East Asia to Europe and North America. We examine the notions of femininity and masculinity in the Qur¿an, family laws, and attitudes toward homosexuality and transgendered populations. We read examples of ambiguous use of language with regards to gender and sexuality in Persian poetry and mystical traditions. We study the dynamic relationship between Islam and Feminism in the Muslim world. Finally, we witness the implications of these attitudes in our case studies and stories, from a divorce court in Iran to a wedding in Sudan.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
RELIGST 181:
Heidegger (PHIL 133S)
A close reading of Heidegger's Being and Time in light of the new paradigm for reading his work, as well as a study of his long-standing interest in mysticism and the question of the divine.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
RELIGST 221:
The Talmud (RELIGST 321)
Strategies of interpretation, debate, and law making. Historical contexts. Prerequisite: Hebrew.
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
RELIGST 230X:
Religion, Radicalization and Media in Africa since 1945 (AFRICAST 248, AFRICAST 348, HISTORY 248, HISTORY 348, RELIGST 330X)
What are the paths to religious radicalization, and what role have media- new and old- played in these conversion journeys? We examine how Pentecostal Christians and Reformist Muslims in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ethiopia have used multiple media forms- newspapers, cell phones, TV, radio, and the internet- to gain new converts, contest the authority of colonial and post-colonial states, construct transnational communities, and position themselves as key political players.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 235:
Religion in Modern Society: Secularization and the Sacred (RELIGST 335)
What is the status of religion in modern life? Is the modern world "secular" in some fundamental, irreversible way and what does this mean? This course will explore these questions through variety of readings from leading sociologists, philosophers, and anthropologists. Our goal will be to understand in what ways industrialization, political liberalization, the rise of technology, and the success of modern science have been used to support the "secularization" thesis that the modern West rendered religion a thing of the past. A central question to be asked will be: do assessments of the place of religion in modernity necessitate a philosophy of history i.e., a theory not only of historical change, but of the meaning of this change as well?n The course will begin by looking at the origins of the theory of secularization from its beginnings in Enlightenment attempts to understand the meaning of history. We will then turn to contemporary debates over the term "secular" against its counterpart, "religious", and the problems with their application to non-Western societies. We will read works by Talal Asad, Saba Mahmood, Max Weber, Charles Taylor, Jürgen Habermas, and Pope Benedict XVI.
Last offered: Spring 2014
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
RELIGST 253:
Recent Research on Japanese Buddhism (RELIGST 353)
Readings in recent English-language scholarship on Japanese Buddhism. nUndergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units. Prerequisite: Solid foundation in either Buddhist studies or East Asian Studies (5 units for 253, 3-5 units for 353) May be repeat for credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 15 units total)
RELIGST 262:
Sex and the Early Church (CLASSICS 262, FEMGEN 262, RELIGST 362)
Sex and the Early Church examines the ways first- through sixth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. We will read a Roman gynecological manual, an ancient dating guide, the world's first harlequin romance novels, ancient pornography, early Christian martyrdom accounts, stories of female and male saints, instructions for how to best battle demons, visionary accounts, and monastic rules. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality. The purpose of our exploration is not simply to better understand ancient views of gender and sexuality. Rather, this investigation of a society whose sexual system often seems so surprising aims to denaturalize many of our own assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. In the process, we will also examine the ways these first centuries of what eventually became the world's largest religious tradition has profoundly affected the sexual norms of our own time. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 264:
Hindu Tantra (RELIGST 364)
What is Tantra? Tantric forms of ritual and philosophy have been integral to the practice of Hinduism for most of its history. Tantra has provided initiates with a spiritual technology for embodying the divine and transcending the cycle of rebirth; on a social and political level, Tantra has mediated the institutions of Hindu kingship and appealed to a diverse population of initiates. This course covers a number of influential and well-documented Hindu tantric traditions, exploring several prominent features of Tantric religion as they develop historically, including: tantric ritual practice (core technologies of the subtle body, mantras, ma, alas, etc., along with the more notorious elements of sex and transgression), theology and philosophical speculation, as well as Tantra's relationship to the outside world and state power.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
RELIGST 290:
Majors Seminar
Required of all majors and combined majors. The study of religion reflects upon itself. Representative modern and contemporary attempts to "theorize," and thereby understand, the phenomena of religion in anthropology, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, and philosophy. WIM.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
SINY 112:
Outside In: Arts Organizations and the Changing Cultural Audience
Study the major disruptions in how audiences define, seek out, participate in, and share cultural experiences. Research¿based theory with practice, case studies and hands¿on assignments. Analyze newly emerging cultural consumers.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SINY 116:
Off the iPhone and Into the City: Creating a Photography Project
Learn components of photography projects and image making including content selection, intention, context, and audience. Talks by professional photographers; field trips to in the city. Two response papers about an exhibition, publication, or long-form web project during their time in New York.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
SINY 122:
The Agile City
Examine the economic, cultural and environmental forces transforming the urban experience globally and understand how cities become agile to adapt to rapidly evolving urban challenges. This course would draw from case studies in New York and elsewhere, using guest experts and site visits or walking tours.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
SINY 136:
Opera at the Met: Global Art in the World's Great Metropolis
This course allows students to discover the power and beauty of live opera through masterful performances at the Metropolitan Opera House.Often viewed as an elitist art, opera has strong roots in popular culture and politics. These issues will emerge over the course of the quarter, as we experience opera at the world's premiere opera house.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SINY 140:
Mapping, time, space, and culture
New York, the financial and cultural capitol of the nation, provides an extraordinary laboratory for exploring the art and science of information representation. The proposed course aims to engage students in a broad swath of art and culture, contextualized by studying the sociopolitical urban landscape.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
SINY 146:
Imaging Change: Global Arts and Social Change
This course will examine some of the people, collectives, and organizations working globally that use the realm of the visual to address and advocate for human rights and social justice. Students will learn about practitioners in socially engaged art, concerned photography, cultural organizing, public art, interactive film, and more. The class will include regular visits to (or guests from) artists¿ and photographers¿ studios, and the esteemed foundations and organizations supporting this work. A final paper will be required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SINY 152:
Film: The City as Muse
Has a film ever challenged your beliefs, transformed your understanding of an issue, left an emotional aftershock, or motivated you to act? Was that the intention of the filmmaker or an unanticipated consequence? Since the inception of the motion picture, the urban landscape and its inhabitants have served as a rich and diverse palette for filmmakers. This course will provide an overview of documentary, experimental, and hybrid films that proffer an unexpected and sometimes disturbing perspective on cities, both here and abroad. We will examine films that privilege artistic expression and expand the conventions of the film form, analyzing how filmmakers distill an issue, situation, or environment through a particular formal style and point-of-view.nnThrough a consideration of iconic historic films, the student will gain a rich understanding of how cities have inspired filmmakers who work outside the traditional fiction genre. In addition to written assignments, students will distill their own experience of the city through photo essays that explore the eclectic geographic, social, and cultural life of New York. Local ¿field trips¿ will include attendance at the annual Margaret Mead Film Festival in October and DocNYC in November. Course readings and discussion will provide an incisive inquiry into the artistic ¿voice¿ of the filmmaker in an analysis of both form and content.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
SINY 154:
Improvised Music in New York City: 1959-2019
This course will introduce you to the sounds and practices of improvised music and to some of today's key improvising musicians who live and work in New York City.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
SIW 164:
Debating the Nation
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SIW 170:
DOCUMENTARY: Films of Persuasion, Advocacy and Change
In recent years, documentaries have shed their identity as the "broccoli" of the film world - they were good for you, but not necessarily palatable. Audiences are now engaged, entertained, and enlightened by the work of Errol Morris, Laura Poitras, Michael Moore, Marshall Curry, and others. Has a documentary film ever provoked you, challenged your beliefs, motivated you to act or changed your mind about something? Was that the goal of the filmmaker? This course offers a conceptual overview of the forms, strategies, and conventions of a documentary film with a particular focus on the social and political documentary, i.e. documentaries that strive to explore issues, construct arguments about the world, and galvanize attitudinal change. A consideration of both form and content will foreground the mutable characteristics of the genre with respect to filmmaker voice and point of view, the objective/subjective conundrum, ethics of representation, aesthetic choices, and the implied contract between filmmaker and audience. Students will hone their critical viewing skills and consider the potential of film to effect attitudinal and behavioral change through a series of case studies of films that represent a wide range of styles and approach.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SIW 245:
Art, Business & the Law (ARTHIST 245)
This course examines the intersection of art, business, and the law from a number of different angles, focusing on issues that impact our understanding of works of art and their circulation in the modern and contemporary periods. Topics range from individual case studies (e.g., Leonardo da Vinci; Richard Serra) to the consolidation of the art market, and include cultural heritage issues, problems of censorship, and conceptions of authorship and intellectual property.nnIn Autumn 2017-18 this course will be offered at Stanford in Washington in Washington, D.C. and enrollment is limited to students who are enrolled in the SIW Program.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 70N:
Socialism vs. Capitalism: Russian and American Writers' Responses
The turn of the 20th century was marked with turbulent political events and heated discussions about the future of Russian and American societies. Many writers and intellectuals responded to the burning issues of social justice, inequality, egalitarianism, and exploitation associated with capitalism and socialism. Through close reading, critical thinking, and analytical writing, we will engage in the critical discussions of class struggle, individual interest versus collective values, race, and social equality, and identify points of convergence and divergence between the two systems. To what extent was the opposition between capitalism and socialism fueled by the artistic vision of the great Russian and American writers? What were these thinkers' ideal of society and what impact did it have on shaping emerging socialism? Readings for the class include the fundamental works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Jack London, W.E.B. Du Bois and Sholem Aleichem. As a field trip, we will visit Jack London State Historic Park in the Northern California. The course will culminate in a digital mapping project visualizing intellectual connections between ideas and writers.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
SLAVIC 77Q:
Russia's Weird Classic: Nikolai Gogol
Preference to sophomores. An investigation of the works and life of Nikolai Gogol, the most eccentric of Russian authors and the founder of what is dubbed Fantastic Realism. Our investigation will be based on close reading of works written in various genres and created in various stages of Gogol's literary career. Taught in English.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 103:
The Putin Phenomenon: Culture and Politics in Recent Russian History (COMPLIT 103)
A man who likes to ride horses shirtless. An autocrat who has shaped contemporary Russia and won't let go of the reins. A conniver who interferes in international democratic processes toward his own nefarious ends.nMore than a politician or an individual, "Putin" has become a catch-all that stands in for Russia as a whole. In this course, we'll attempt to separate the man from the myth and to understand the historical and cultural context behind Putin's policies. In the process, we will strive better to grasp contemporary Russian society as a complex and culturally rich environment, not just an oppressed land under the thumb of one man.nIn the course of our analysis, we will examine literary and cultural artifacts and expressive works that engage with political, social, and universal human problems in a Russian and post-Soviet context, interpreting and critiquing those cultural objects with an eye to aesthetic methods and qualities and also how they reflect historical and cultural elements of Russia over a 25-year period. Cultural products to be addressed include literature and film (and one graphic novel) from the Perestroika period through the present day. We will also read President Putin's autobiography, First Person, and several of his speeches, using techniques of literary analysis to parse the particular story about Russia that he aims to convey to Russians. By examining and exploring a range of cultural objects from Russia's recent history, we seek to understand the forces that contributed to social and political change over those years, the effect those changes had on ordinary (and extraordinary) Russians, and how those effects take on meaningful aesthetic form through creative expression.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
SLAVIC 113:
LGBTQ in Russia: A Legal History (REES 214, SLAVIC 213)
Russian politicians who support the country's law against so-called "gay propaganda" have repeatedly defended the restriction of LGBTQ rights. They claim that sexual minorities are antonymous to Russian "traditional values"', and some have even suggested that homosexuality should be re-criminalized altogether. This course explores the place of sexual minorities within Russian "tradition" by tracing laws regulating sex from the medieval period to the present day.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
SLAVIC 118N:
Other People's Words: Folklore and Literature
What happens when you collect and use other people's words? This class considers folklore and literature based on it, focusing on the theme of objects that come to life and threaten their makers or owners (including Russian fairy tales and Nikolai Gogol's stories, the Golem legend and Michael Chabon's Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and Ovid's and Shaw's Pygmalion). We read essays by Jacob Grimm, Roman Jakobson, and others, to understand what folklore can mean and how the oral and the written can interact. Students collect living folklore from a group of their choosing. This course fulfills the second-level Writing and Rhetoric Requirement (Write-2) and emphasizes oral and multimedia presentation.Prerequisite: PWR 1
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, Writing 2
SLAVIC 121:
Ukraine at a Crossroads (SLAVIC 221)
Literally meaning "borderland," Ukraine has embodied in-betweenness in all possible ways. What is the mission of Ukraine in Europe and in Eurasia? How can Ukraine become an agent of democracy, stability, and unity? What does Ukraine's case of multiple identities and loyalties offer to our understanding of the global crisis of national identity? In this course, we will consider the historical permeability of Ukraine's territorial, cultural, and ethnic borders as an opportunity to explore the multiple dimensions of its relations with its neighbors. In addition to studying historical and literary, and cinematic texts, we discuss nationalism, global capitalism, memory politics, and propaganda in order to understand post-Euromaidan society. All required texts are in English. No knowledge of Ukrainian is required. NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
SLAVIC 145:
Survey of Russian Literature: The Age of Experiment (SLAVIC 345)
This course discusses the transition from predominantly poetic to predominantly prosaic creativity in the Russian literature of the first half of the 19th century Russian literature and the birth of the great Russian novel. It covers three major Russian writers “-- Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolai Gogol -- and examines the changes in the Russian literary scene affected by their work. An emphasis is placed on close reading of literary texts and analysis of literary techniques employed in them. Taught in English. NOTE: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take SLAVIC 145 for a minimum of 3 Units and a Letter Grade.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 146:
The Great Russian Novel: Tolstoy and Dostoevsky (SLAVIC 346)
In this seminar, we will study the development of the 19th-century Russian novel through the close reading and broad cultural examination of three masterpieces: Ivan Goncharov's <e>Oblomov</e> (1859), Fyodor Dostoevsky's <e>Crime and Punishment</e> (1866), and Leo Tolstoy's <e>Anna Karenina</e> (1877). Through the analysis of the novels and their context, we will define the aesthetic contours of the Russian realist novel. We will pay special attention to the questions of genre, narration, discourse, medium, and intermediality. Note: To be eligible for WAYS/WIM credit, you must take SLAVIC 146 for a minimum of 3 Units and a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 147:
Modern Russian Literature and Culture: The Age of War and Revolution (SLAVIC 347)
The Age of Revolution: Readings in Russian Modernist Prose of the 1920-30s: What makes Russian modernist prose special? Or is there anything special about Russian modernist prose? This course aims to answer these questions through close readings of works by Babel, Mandelstam, Zoshchenko, Platonov, Olesha and Bulgakov. Aesthetic issues such as hero, plot, and narrative devices will be addressed with the aid of contemporaneous literary theory (Shklovsky, Tynianov, Eikhenbaum, Bakhtin). Novels and theory will be read in English. NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 179:
Literature from Medieval Rus' and Early Modern Russia (SLAVIC 379)
This course traces the history of Russian literature before the eighteenth century. It is divided into two sections. The first section examines literature from Kyivan Rus' (up to the thirteenth century), the medieval conglomerate to which Belarus, Russia and Ukraine all trace their cultural heritage. The second section examines old Russian literature specifically, from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. We pay close attention to the development of literary genres, moral/religious and aesthetic features and their relationship, and the beginnings of Russian belles lettres. Our approach to the texts will be two-fold. On the one hand, we will spend some time situating the sources within their historical contexts. On the other hand, we will explore the interpretive possibilities of premodern literature using formal analysis and critical theory. Knowledge of an East Slavic language is required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 181:
Philosophy and Literature (CLASSICS 42, COMPLIT 181, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81)
What, if anything, does reading literature do for our lives? What can literature offer that other forms of writing cannot? Can fictions teach us anything? Can they make people more moral? Why do we take pleasure in tragic stories? This course introduces students to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature. It addresses key questions about the value of literature, philosophical puzzles about the nature of fiction and literary language, and ways that philosophy and literature interact. Readings span literature, film, and philosophical theories of art. Authors may include Sophocles, Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Proust, Woolf, Walton, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Students master close reading techniques and philosophical analysis, and write papers combining the two. This is the required gateway course for the Philosophy and Literature major tracks. Majors should register in their home department.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 185:
Cinemato-graph (FILMSTUD 131, FILMSTUD 331, SLAVIC 285)
The term cinematography, which literally means "inscribing motion," tends to lose the "graphic" part in modern use. However, several influential film-makers not only practiced the art of "inscribing motion" but also wrote texts discussing the aesthetic premises of cinematographic art. This course explores theories of cinema as propagated by the following film-makers: Vertov, Eisenstein, Godard, Bresson, Antonioni, Pasolini, Tarkovsky, Greenaway, and Lynch. Selected key texts will be supplemented by screenings of classic films, indicative of each director's work. NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SLAVIC 221:
Ukraine at a Crossroads (SLAVIC 121)
Literally meaning "borderland," Ukraine has embodied in-betweenness in all possible ways. What is the mission of Ukraine in Europe and in Eurasia? How can Ukraine become an agent of democracy, stability, and unity? What does Ukraine's case of multiple identities and loyalties offer to our understanding of the global crisis of national identity? In this course, we will consider the historical permeability of Ukraine's territorial, cultural, and ethnic borders as an opportunity to explore the multiple dimensions of its relations with its neighbors. In addition to studying historical and literary, and cinematic texts, we discuss nationalism, global capitalism, memory politics, and propaganda in order to understand post-Euromaidan society. All required texts are in English. No knowledge of Ukrainian is required. NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
SLAVIC 228:
Russian Nationalism: Literature and Ideas (REES 328, SLAVIC 328)
Russia is huge and linguistically and religiously diverse. Yet the ideology of nationalism --the idea that culturally unified groups should rule their own territories-- took root in Russia in the early 19th century and is powerful today. What made this happen? Political thinkers, writers, and other artists have argued for the superiority of the Russian nation. Meanwhile, the tsarist, Soviet, and post-Soviet governments have worked to reconcile the ideology of nationalism with the realities of the administration of a diverse state. This course examines the roots of nationalism itself and the paradox of Russian nationalism, looking at literary and political writers including Dostoevsky, Stalin, and Solzhenitsyn.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
SLAVIC 285:
Cinemato-graph (FILMSTUD 131, FILMSTUD 331, SLAVIC 185)
The term cinematography, which literally means "inscribing motion," tends to lose the "graphic" part in modern use. However, several influential film-makers not only practiced the art of "inscribing motion" but also wrote texts discussing the aesthetic premises of cinematographic art. This course explores theories of cinema as propagated by the following film-makers: Vertov, Eisenstein, Godard, Bresson, Antonioni, Pasolini, Tarkovsky, Greenaway, and Lynch. Selected key texts will be supplemented by screenings of classic films, indicative of each director's work. NOTE: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for Ways credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SLE 91:
Structured Liberal Education
Focusing on great works of philosophy, religion, literature, painting, and film drawn largely from the Western tradition, the SLE curriculum places particular emphasis on artists and intellectuals who brought new ways of thinking and new ways of creating into the world, often overthrowing prior traditions in the process. These are the works that redefined beauty, challenged the authority of conventional wisdom, raised questions of continuing importance to us today, and - for good or ill - created the world we still live in. Texts may include: Homer, Sappho, Greek tragedy, Plato, Aristotle, Zhuangzi, Confucius, the Heart Sutra, Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and the Aeneid.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 8
| UG Reqs: College, GER:DB-Hum, GER:IHUM-1, THINK, WAY-A-II, Writing SLE
SLE 92:
Structured Liberal Education
Focusing on great works of philosophy, religion, literature, painting, and film drawn largely from the Western tradition, the SLE curriculum places particular emphasis on artists and intellectuals who brought new ways of thinking and new ways of creating into the world, often overthrowing prior traditions in the process. These are the works that redefined beauty, challenged the authority of conventional wisdom, raised questions of continuing importance to us today, and - for good or ill - created the world we still live in. Texts may include: Augustine, the Qur'an, Dante, Rumi, Machiavelli, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Las Casas, Descartes, Locke, Mill, Schleiermacher, and Flaubert.
Terms: Win
| Units: 8
| UG Reqs: College, GER:DB-Hum, GER:IHUM-2, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing SLE
SPANLANG 102:
Composition and Writing Workshop
Individual development of the ability to write in Spanish. Emphasis is on style and diction, and on preparing and writing essays on literary topics. Non-Spanish majors or minors may choose topics more closely related to their studies for projects. Students who wish to participate in the optional community engaged learning component should sign up for Spanlang 102SL (below). Prerequisite: two years of college Spanish or equivalent.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
SPANLANG 102SL:
Composition and Writing Workshop
SPANLANG 102SL. Equivalent to Spanlang 102, integrating service learning with course material. Assignments will be modified for students enrolled under 102SL to focus on principles and practice of community-engaged learning. Students and native Spanish-speaking Stanford workers exchange oral histories and create digital stories with testimonials, advice, or remembrances that workers wish to share. Cardinal Course (certified by Haas Center). In 2016-2017, Spring Quarter only. Prerequisite: SPANLANG 13C, SPANLANG 13R, SPANLANG 13SL, or SPANLANG 23B
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
STS 1:
The Public Life of Science and Technology (CSRE 1T)
The course focuses on key social, cultural, and values issues raised by contemporary scientific and technological developments through the STS interdisciplinary lens by developing and applying skills in three areas: (a) The historical analysis of contemporary global matters (e.g., spread of technologies; climate change response); (b) The bioethical reasoning around health issues (e.g., disease management; privacy rights); and (c) The sociological study of knowledge (e.g., intellectual property, science publishing). A discussion section is required and will be assigned the first week of class.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
STS 200L:
Critique of Technology
Informed citizens living in today'™s world, and especially in Silicon Valley, should be able to formulate their own articulate positions about the role of technology in culture. The course gives students the tools to do so. Against the trend towards the thoughtless celebration of all things technological, we will engage in critique in the two senses of the term: as careful study of the cultural implications of technology and as balanced, argumentative criticism. Can technology make life more meaningful, society more fair, people smarter, and the world smaller? We will pay special attention to the insights that literature, and other arts, can offer for reframing digital culture. Selections by Latin American fiction writers (Cortázar, Zambra), philosophers and thinkers (Heidegger and Beller), as well as recent popular works of social commentary, such as You are not a Gadget, The Shallows, 24/7, and Present Shock. Taught in English.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
TAPS 1:
Introduction to Theater and Performance Studies
TAPS 1 provides you with a solid foundation in Theater Studies and traces the development of the burgeoning field of Performance Studies. We will consider a range of canonical plays and emerging performance forms, and explore how performance can also function as an interpretive framework for analyzing a broad range of social behaviors, sites, and institutions. Through a series of close readings, discussions, written and practical exercises, and viewings of live performance, this course will help you achieve a richer understanding of the performances you see and the performances you may wish to make. This quarter, TAPS 1 will serve as the platform for the Theater & Performance Studies professionalization series. We will host several guest speakers (directors, actors, playwrights, and dance practitioners), who will give you some real connections in the theater world and will provide you with information and skills to help you build a career in the arts.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 11N:
Dramatic Tensions: Theater and the Marketplace
Preference to freshmen. The current state of the American theater and its artists. Conventional wisdom says that theater is a dying art, and a lost cause, especially in an age of multi-media entertainment. But there are more young playwrights, actors, and directors entering the field today than at any other time in American history. Focus is on the work of today's theater artists, with an emphasis on an emerging generation of playwrights. Students read a cross-section of plays from writers currently working in the US and UK, covering a spectrum of subjects and styles from serious to comic, from the musical to the straight play. Hits and misses from recent seasons of the New York and London stages and some of the differences of artistic taste across the Atlantic. Hands-on exploration of the arts and skills necessary to make a play succeed. Students develop their own areas of interest, in guided projects in design, direction or performance. Conversations with playwrights, designers ,and directors. Labs and master classes to solve problems posed in areas of creative production. Class meets literary managers and producers who are on the frontlines of underwriting new talent. Class trips include two plays at major Bay Area Stages.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 11Q:
Art in the Metropolis (ARTSINST 11Q, ENGLISH 11Q)
This seminar is offered in conjunction with the annual "Arts Immersion" trip to New York that takes place over the spring break and is organized by the Stanford Arts Institute (SAI). Participation in the trip is a requirement for taking part in the seminar (and vice versa). The trip is designed to provide a group of students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultural life of New York City guided by faculty and the SAI programming director. Students will experience a broad range and variety of art forms (visual arts, theater, opera, dance, etc.) and will meet with prominent arts administrators and practitioners, some of whom are Stanford alumni. For further details and updates about the trip, see http://arts.stanford.edu.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 20N:
Prisons and Performance
Preference to Freshmen. This seminar starts with the unlikely question of what can the performing arts, particularly dance and theater, illuminate about the situation of mass incarceration in America. Part seminar, part immersive context building, students will read and view a cross-section of dance and theater works where the subject, performers, choreographers or authors, belong to part of the 2.4 million people currently behind bars in US prisons. Class includes conversations with formerly incarcerated youth, prison staff, juvenile justice lawyers and artists working in juvenile and adult prisons as well as those who are part of the 7.3 million people currently on parole or probation. Using performance as our lens we will investigate the unique kinds of understanding the arts make possible as well as the growing use of theater and dance to affect social change and personal transformation among prison inmates. Class trips will include visits to locked facilities and meetings with artists and inmates working behind bars.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 21N:
The Idea of Virtual Reality
What is virtual reality and where is it heading? Was there VR before digital technology? What is the value of the real in a virtual culture? How, where, and when do we draw the line between the virtual and the real, the live and the mediated today? Concentrating on three aspects of VR simulation, immersion, and interactivity this course will examine recent experiments alongside a long history of virtual performance, from Plato's Cave to contemporary CAVEs, from baroque theatre design to Oculus Rift.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 40N:
Family Drama: American Plays about Families (AMSTUD 41N, ENGLISH 41N)
Focus on great dramas about family life (Albee, Kushner, Shephard, Vogel, Kron, Nottage, Parks). Communication in writing and speaking about conflict central to learning in this class.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 133T:
Transgender Performance and Performativity (FEMGEN 133)
This course examines theater, performance art, dance, and embodied practice by transgender artists. Students will learn the history and politics of transgender performance while considering the creative processes and formal aesthetics trans artists use to make art. We will analyze creative work in conversation with critical and theoretical texts from the fields of performance studies, art history, and queer studies.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
TAPS 139M:
Ten Music Videos That Shook Design
This course uses commercial music videos as a springboard for teaching fundamental concepts in visual design. Students analyze popular music videos for key design elements (such as color, texture or light) and then explore these ideas through interactive assignments both in and out of class. Through class discussion and two written papers, students will build upon these core visual elements to discover meaning and value in the video as a whole. Students will learn a practical design vocabulary as well as visual research methods including online databases available through Stanford.nnCourse Objectives and Learning OutcomesnnIn this course, students will:nn1. Become familiar with fundamental design principles (such as color, texture and shape) through class discussion, group projects, individual creative projects and short written papers focused on a select group of music videos.nn2. Compare and contrast the use of these design principles in specific music videos.nn3. Justify the intellectual validity of pop culture by explicitly connecting music videos to broader historical, political and cultural themes.nn4. Learn how to use the resources of Stanford¿s Art & Architecture library, including the digital collections, to find historic photographs and art images for academic and design projects of any type.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
TAPS 151:
Dramaturgy (TAPS 315)
This class examines the role of narrativity in live performance. Class topics range from the classics, to contemporary theater, dance, new media, performance art curatorship, and beyond, to grand social narratives. Integration of scholarship and practice is one of basic principles of dramaturgy, and this class follows in that spirit. Exploration of dramaturgical techniques is aimed to help students prepare to work on production dramaturgy. To that end, they will have an option to complete their final course assignment by serving as production dramaturgs on one of TAPS shows.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
TAPS 151C:
Hamlet and the Critics (ENGLISH 115C, ENGLISH 215C, TAPS 251C)
Focus is on Shakespeare's Hamlet as a site of rich critical controversy from the eighteenth century to the present. Aim is to read, discuss, and evaluate different approaches to the play, from biographical, theatrical, and psychological to formalist, materialist, feminist, new historicist, and, most recently, quantitative. The ambition is to see whether there can be great literature without (a) great (deal of) criticism. The challenge is to understand the theory of literature through the study of its criticism.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 151T:
Global Great Books: Dramatic Dialogues (COMPLIT 151T, COMPLIT 351T, TAPS 351)
The most influential and enduring texts in the dramatic canon from Sophocles to Shakespeare, Chekhov to Soyinka. Their historical and geopolitical contexts. Questions about the power dynamics involved in the formation of canons. This course counts as a Writing in the Major course for TAPS in 2016-17.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 153M:
Mechanics of the Theater: The Technologies of Stagecraft
This course explores the history of technologies vital to the theatre: traps, lifts, lights, and sounds have been crucial for creating stage illusion. Divided into three main sections, Mechanics and Machines, Lighting and Projections, and Acoustics and Sound, we will examine the history of technological innovation and theatrical experimentation from the Enlightenment to the present. We will also be conducting case studies for each section with a core text or texts. We will cover Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ibsen's Ghosts, Chekhov's The Seagull, and Dreamgirls, The Musical. n nTechnologies such as mechanical traps, electrical lights, and sound machines have been used to create stunning illusions and spectacular theater. Many of these technologies were also significant for the histories of industrialization and modernization. We will ask: How did theater makers develop and innovate using technological innovations? What role does technological aesthetics play in understanding human culture? What are the relationships between theater, technology, and society? In class, we will be reading, experimenting, and performing with various technological artifacts. We will be conducting experiments alongside our reading practice to better understand our historical subjects.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
TAPS 154G:
Black Magic: Ethnicity, Race, and Identity in Performance Cultures (AFRICAAM 154G, CSRE 154D, FEMGEN 154G)
In 2013, CaShawn Thompson devised a Twitter hashtag, #blackgirlmagic, to celebrate the beauty and intelligence of black women. Twitter users quickly adopted the slogan, using the hashtag to celebrate everyday moments of beauty, accomplishment, and magic. In contrast, #blackmagic is used to describe everything from the uncanny to the personal. This course examines the discursive phenomenon of "black magic" and its permutations throughout Anglo-American histories. We will investigate the binaries of black/dark, white/light magic that has entered our contemporary lexicon, reading material on religion, magic performance, and theater.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 156A:
Warhol: Painting, Photography, Performance (ARTHIST 156A, ARTHIST 356A, TAPS 356A)
This course focuses on the career of Andy Warhol as a means to consider the broader history of American art and culture since 1950. It examines little-studied aspects of Warhol¿s visual production (e.g. his career as a commercial artist in the 1950s and his everyday photographs of the 1970s and 1980s) alongside his now-canonical Pop paintings of the 1960s. Warhol?s critical and scholarly reception will be scrutinized in detail, as will published interviews of and writings by the artist. Finally, we will consider Warhol¿s legacy and wide-ranging influence on American culture in the decades since his death in 1987.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 156X:
Theater of Dissent: Social Movements, Migration, and Revolution in the Americas (CSRE 156X)
TAPS 156X is an introductory level course that considers how theatre and performance provide a vital platform to examine political dissonance, the mobilities and (im)mobilities that shape transnational migration, and the formation of Latinx/Chicanx identity in the Americas. We will further examine the differences between key terminology in performance, including the notion of Latinidad, by looking at different aesthetic and socio-cultural performance practices and methodologies, re-occuring performance themes, and site-specific performance in the Americas. This course will primarily concentrate on works written in/about the Western Pacific US Southwest, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Cuba, and Colombia through a variety of theatrical play texts, recorded performances, workshops, and creative projects.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 157:
World Drama and Performance (TAPS 357)
This course takes up a geographically expansive conversation by looking at modern and contemporary drama from nations including Ghana, Egypt, India, Argentina, among others. Considering influential texts from the Global South will also enable us to explore a range of themes and methodologies that are radically re-shaping the field of Performance Studies. We will examine the relationship between colonialism and globalization, empire and capital, cosmopolitanism and neoliberalism. Re-situating our perspective from the Global South and the non-western world, we will 'provincialize Europe' and probe the limits of its universalizing discourses.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 158B:
Brecht in Practice and Theory
Hardly any figure looms as large in the modern theatrical canon as Bertolt Brecht, whose critical rethinking of theater's social function has inspired political artists around the globe. This course zooms in on this revolutionary spirit to offer students the opportunity to study, apply, critique and transform Brechtian techniques through hands-on activities. With class sessions split between practical workshops and seminars, we will approach Brecht's writings both his prose and plays¿from the theater practitioner's perspective. How do Brecht's concepts, like Verfremdung, Epic, and Gestus, challenge theater conventions, and to what end? What practical exercises can be developed from his writings, and what are their uses for theater-makers today? How, when, and why might Brechtian techniques be applied to devised work or dramas by other playwrights? What does Brecht's model of theater overlook, and how can an intersectional critique provide inspiration to transform his ideas? The course is aimed particularly at student directors, but will also benefit actors, dramaturgs, playwrights and scholars interested in practice as research. No theater experience required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
TAPS 160:
Performance and History: Rethinking the Ballerina (DANCE 160, FEMGEN 160, TAPS 260)
The ballerina occupies a unique place in popular imagination as an object of over-determined femininity as well as an emblem of extreme physical accomplishment for the female dancer. This seminar is designed as an investigation into histories of the ballerina as an iconographic symbol and cultural reference point for challenges to political and gender ideals. Through readings, videos, discussions and viewings of live performances this class investigates pivotal works, artists and eras in the global histories of ballet from its origins as a symbol of patronage and power in the 15th century through to its radical experiments as a site of cultural obedience and disobedience in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 160M:
Introduction to Representations of the Middle East in Dance, Performance, & Popular Culture (CSRE 160M, DANCE 160M, FEMGEN 160M)
This course will introduce students to the ways in which the Middle East has been represented and performed by/in the 'West' through dance, performance, and popular culture in both historical and contemporary contexts. A brief look through today's media sources exposes a wide range of racialized and gendered representations of the Middle East that shape the way the world imagines the Middle East to be. As postcolonial theorist Edward Said explains, the framework we call Orientalism establishes the ontological character of the Orient and the Oriental as inherently `Other'. Starting with 19th century colonialism and continuing into the post-9/11 era, this course will trace the Western production, circulation, and consumption of representations of the Middle East as 'Other' in relation to global geopolitics. We will further examine dance forms produced in mid-twentieth century Iran and Egypt, with particular attention to nation-state building and constructions of gender. Finally, we will examine artistic productions and practices from the Middle East and Middle Eastern diasporic communities that respond to colonialism, war, displacement, secularism, and Euro-American Empire. Using dance studies, postcolonial feminist, and critical race theoretical frameworks, we will consider the gender, racial, political, and cultural implications of selected performance works and practices in order to analyze how bodies produce meaning in dance, performance art, theater, film, photography, and new media. Students will engage in multiple modes of learning; the course will include lectures, engaged group discussions, viewing of live and recorded performance, embodied participation in dance practice, student oral presentations, and a variety of writing exercises. Course assignments will culminate in a final research project related to class themes and methods.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 161D:
Introduction to Dance Studies: Dancing Across Stages, Clubs, Screens, and Borders (CSRE 61, DANCE 161D, FEMGEN 161D)
This introduction to dance studies course explores dance practice and performance as means for producing cultural meaning. Through theoretical and historical texts and viewing live and recorded dance, we will develop tools for analyzing dance and understanding its place in social, cultural, and political structures. This uses dance and choreography as a lens to more deeply understand a wide range of identity and cultural formations, such as gender, race, sexuality, (dis)ability, (trans)nationality, and empire. We will analyze dancing bodies that move across stages, dance clubs, film screens, and border zones. We will examine dance from diverse locales and time periods including ballet, modern and contemporary dance, contact improvisation, folkloric dance, burlesque, street dance, queer club dance, drag performance, music videos, TV dance competitions, and intermedia/new media performance. In addition to providing theoretical and methodological grounding in dance studies, this course develops performance analysis skills and hones the ability to write critically and skillfully about dance. No previous experience in dance is necessary to successfully complete the course.
Last offered: Autumn 2017
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 162L:
Latin/x America in Motion: An Introduction to Dance Studies (CHILATST 162, CSRE 162D, DANCE 162L, TAPS 262L)
This course introduces students to the field of Dance Studies by examining the histories of Latin American and Caribbean dances and their relationship to developing notions of race and nation in the Americas. We will study the historical emergence and transformation of ¿indigeneity,¿ ¿blackness,¿ ¿whiteness,¿ and ¿Latin/@/x¿ and consider how dance practices interacted with these identifications. No prior experience with Dance or Latin America and the Caribbean necessary.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 163D:
Shakespeare: The Ethical Challenge (ENGLISH 163D)
Was the eighteenth century right in proclaiming Shakespeare to be the greatest moral philosopher? What are the ethical challenges Shakespeare's major plays still pose for us? Can we divorce ethical decisions from the contingencies of experience? We will ask a series of normative ethical questions (to do with pleasure, power, old age, self-sacrifice, and truth telling) and attempt to answer them in relation to the dramatic situation of Shakespeare's characters on the one hand and our own cultural situation on the other. The ethical challenge of Shakespearean drama will be set against selected readings in ethical theory.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
TAPS 167:
Introduction to Greek Tragedy: Gods, Heroes, Fate, and Justice (CLASSICS 112)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 110.) Gods and heroes, fate and free choice, gender conflict, the justice or injustice of the universe: these are just some of the fundamental human issues that we will explore in about ten of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 170B:
Directing Workshop: The Actor-Director Dialogue (TAPS 372)
This course focuses on the actor-director dialogue. We will work with actors and directors developing approaches to collaboration that make the actor-director dialogue in theater.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 248:
Family Drama: American Plays about Families (ENGLISH 148)
Focus on great dramas about family life (Albee, Kushner, Shephard, Vogel, Kron, Nottage, Parks). Communication in writing and speaking about conflict central to learning in this class.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 251C:
Hamlet and the Critics (ENGLISH 115C, ENGLISH 215C, TAPS 151C)
Focus is on Shakespeare's Hamlet as a site of rich critical controversy from the eighteenth century to the present. Aim is to read, discuss, and evaluate different approaches to the play, from biographical, theatrical, and psychological to formalist, materialist, feminist, new historicist, and, most recently, quantitative. The ambition is to see whether there can be great literature without (a) great (deal of) criticism. The challenge is to understand the theory of literature through the study of its criticism.
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 258:
Black Feminist Theater and Theory (AFRICAAM 258, CSRE 258, FEMGEN 258X)
From the rave reviews garnered by Angelina Weld Grimke's lynching play, Rachel to recent work by Lynn Nottage on Rwanda, black women playwrights have addressed key issues in modern culture and politics. We will analyze and perform work written by black women in the U.S., Britain and the Caribbean in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include: sexuality, surrealism, colonialism, freedom, violence, colorism, love, history, community and more. Playwrights include: Angelina Grimke, Lorriane Hansberry, Winsome Pinnock, Adrienne Kennedy, Suzan- Lori Parks, Ntzoke Shange, Pearl Cleage, Sarah Jones, Anna DeVeare Smith, Alice Childress, Lydia Diamond and Zora Neale Hurston.)
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
THINK 8:
Sustainability and Collapse
What does it mean to live sustainably? How do our different definitions of nature ¿ scientific, literary, cultural, and historical ¿ shape the way we answer that question? nnSustainability and Collapse will explore what people in different places and periods of time have envisioned as successful ways of living with nature and how such ways of life have come under pressure. We will focus particularly on the interface between scientific and humanistic approaches to questions of environmental sustainability through a study of novels, historical texts, and works of biogeography. You will learn to ask how textual and visual images inform our ideas about what it means to live sustainably. We will then consider whether those ideas are in accordance with or in conflict with scientific understandings of human uses of nature. This course takes on some of the fundamental problems that presently confront our global community.
Last offered: Autumn 2013
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
THINK 24:
Evil
What is evil? Are we naturally good or evil? How should we respond to evil? There are many books and courses that focus on the good life or the virtues. Yet despite their obvious apparent presence in our life and world, evil and the vices are rarely taken as explicit topics. We will read philosophical and literary texts that deal with the question of evil at a theoretical level, but will also focus on some practical implications of these issues. By exploring evil, we will confront larger questions about the nature of human beings, the appropriate aims of the good society, the function of punishment, and the place of morality in art.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
THINK 31:
Race in American Memory
How have Americans remembered the Civil War - what it meant, what it accomplished, and what it failed to accomplish? How did Americans reimagine the United States as a nation after the war? Who belonged in the national community and who would be excluded? In 1865, the peace treaty was signed at Appomattox and the Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery, but the battle over memory and national identity had just begun. The questions that the Civil War addressed - and failed to address - continue to affect our lives today. We will focus on how Americans negotiated issues of cultural memory and national identity through a close analysis of historical texts, novels, poems, films, paintings, cartoons, photographs, and music. Our interpretations will foreground the particular themes of race and nationhood, freedom and citizenship, and changing notions of individual and collective identity. Our assumption in this course is that history is not available to us as a set of events - fixed, past, and unchanging. Rather, history is known through each generation's interpretations of those events, and these interpretations are shaped by each generation's lived experience. What stories get told? Whose stories? And in what ways? The stories we choose to tell about the past can shape not only our understanding of the present, but also the kind of future we imagine and strive to realize.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
THINK 43:
What is Love?
Is love a spiritual or a bodily phenomenon? Is the concept of love timeless or ever changing? How does thinking about love lead us to ask other important philosophical and social questions? In this course we will examine the classical roots, medieval developments, and contemporary permutations of Western ideas of romantic love. With an eye to thinking about representations of love in our own culture, we consider some of the foundational love books of the Western tradition. From Plato's Symposium to Chester Brown's graphic novel Paying For It, we ask the fundamental question of whether and how we might distinguish between spiritual and physical desire. We consider how medieval and contemporary writers dealt with the relation of love to sex, power, money, marriage, and gender. We discuss these works of the past, for example the illicit love in the courtly romance Tristan, in tandem with representations of clandestine love from the present day, such as the portrayal of same-sex love in Brokeback Mountain.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
THINK 44:
Belief
Why do people believe in God? What does it mean for people to experience the supernatural? How do we understand belief in God? How do people convey experiences that are by definition extra-ordinary to others? In this course we ask the big (and unanswerable) question why people believe in God. Some scholars argue that belief results from direct experience, such as visions or moments of transcendence, that testify to God's existence. Others suggest that belief in the supernatural is better explained by the way the human mind has evolved or people's experience of the social world. In this class, we will pair medieval literature on Christian mysticism and magic with readings from modern psychology and anthropology. We will look at the dominant answers provided by each discipline. For example, belief might result from our sensory experience of the world, or it might have developed as part of our cognitive apparatus in response to fear. Our aim is to show how different disciplines can work together to cast light on a basic question of human existence.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
THINK 49:
Stories Everywhere
Do we perceive the world through stories? Are we made of stories? Can we make sense of the world without narrative? The telling of stories is not just a form of entertainment but an essential human activity that moves and persuades us, compelling us to action and reflection. In this course, we will probe how moral, cognitive and historical forces give stories their power. You will be introduced to the basic theory and art of storytelling, enabling you to understand and master the fundamentals of narrative structure, plot, and character. This will allow you to practice producing your own stories through both interpretative and creative writing assignments. The class will also give students the chance to participate in various story-making activities and work with the Stanford Storytelling Project, San Francisco StoryCorps, School of the Arts and the Stanford Innocence Project to create assignments that would be useful to both private and nonprofit organizations.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
THINK 53:
Food Talks: The Language of Food
In this course, we examine how the ways we talk about food offers us a window into history, psychology, culture and economics. We ask students to think critically about language and taste as well as explore the hidden meanings and influence of the language that surrounds us. Students will analyze the language of food through menus, recipes, Yelp reviews, TV food shows, as well as the history and etymology of food words. Some of our examples will be drawn from East Asian food and culture in addition to, and as a point of contrast with, foods and cultures that may be more familiar to students.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
THINK 55:
Understanding China through Film
How did China move from an imperial and colonized country to an independent modern nation? How did the Chinese people transform its tradition, create new ways of life and values, and move toward modernity? What can the films tell us about the most significant events in modern Chinese culture and history?nWe will learn about major social and cultural transformations in modern Chinese through film. We will analyze films as a window on the ongoing narrative of a people making history and responding to a changing circumstances of revolution, reform, political movements, and modernization. Students will study film images as an art that is intertwined with ordinary people, their lived experiences, cultural habit, moral values, and political consciousness. The course will highlight four major periods: the May Fourth New Culture (1919-1930), the socialist era, the Cultural Revolution, and the reform era of globalization since the 1980s. We will learn to be sensitive to film as a visual and dramatic medium that brings to life Chinese history and culture. Mandatory screenings will be held on Wednesdays 6:30pm-9pm.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
THINK 57:
Progress: Pro and Contra
Where and when did we start believing in human progress? Does progress imply that history has a particular direction or end-goal?nMuch of our everyday thinking about politics, society, and history depends on some implicit or explicit concept of progress. Have we reached a point where we need to replace the idea of progress with that of sustainability? These are some of the questions this course will raise as it looks at how ideas of progress inform western thinking about science, history, evolution, and politics. It will engage with thinkers who argued in favor of the idea of progress as well as thinkers who attacked its presumptions. Reading and critically evaluating philosophical, scientific, and literary texts, we will investigate the different consequences of our residual belief in progress, as well as the consequences of our possible abandonment of that belief.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
THINK 59:
Worlds of Sound: Learning to Listen
We live in a world of sound. In ways that we do not always see, our social practices and machines lead us to understand certain sounds as signal and filter out others as noise. Drawing on thinking from linguistics, musicology, science and technology studies, and literature, this class challenges freshmen to become aware of their own listening practices and to learn how to listen actively and critically. We ask students to think about how listening can give them knowledge about themselves; how it relates to memory and identity; and how it is like or unlike reading. We will then introduce issues related to listening and technology: how technology influences the perception of sound; the perceived lack of fit between noise and an individual's perception of it. Finally, we will address varies cultures of musical listening, the classical Western tradition, South Asian musical traditions, and the listening experiences of immigrant and minority communities.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
THINK 60:
American Enemies
It would seem that an enemy should be easy to identify, but this course proposes that this involves deliberation, choice, and an assessment of consequences. We will explore modern American experiences in defining enemies, here defined as mortal threats to the state and the national collective. We will focus on ideas, thinking and assumptions rather than historical chronology. Who are enemies? How are they defined and by whom? How are enemies characterized and perceived? The narrative content of the course would be a historical study of the American engagement with enemies from 1942 to 1990. We will begin with the war or terror, return to consider the experience of the Japanese enemy of World War II, and then come up through the years of the Cold War and beyond.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
THINK 64:
Healing, Illness, Stories
This course focuses on multiple genres of narratives about illness and recovery: memoirs, graphic novels, poetry, fiction, essay, and documentary film. It asks what the power, if any, of narrative is in healing. Drawing upon the fields of literature and the practice of medicine, students will begin to grapple with the power of stories in illuminating the experience of illness and disability and in offering the possibilities for (self) transformation.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
THINK 66:
Design that Understands Us
What is the nature of design¿and the meaning it holds in human life? Why do we bother to design beautiful things? Is it possible to design truth and conscience into technology? How do we reconcile deep uncertainties brought on by new technology, with the underlying values we hold as humans?nnWhat we make, in turn, makes us. This course examines the nature, purpose, and meaning of design in human life, seeking to understand its underlying universality as an interweaving of engineering, art, philosophy, and a radical synthesis of means-to-ends (things done for the sake of another purpose; e.g., technology) and ends-in-themselves (things valued for their intrinsic worth; e.g., truth, beauty, morality, the idea of play). It explores design as something that both embraces and confronts technology, not purely as means to yet another end, but also in its potential for humanistic meaning, understanding, and poignancy. It examines the idea that we should not always design from practical needs (as we are often taught) but also from the values underlying the needs; that technology should not be only an agent of change, survival, or happiness, but through what we do with it, also a mirror to define our own humanness.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
THINK 67:
What Makes Music Classical?
This course asks a question that can elicit a variety of responses. Classical music means different things to different people. For some it connotes Western art music of a particular historical era. According to this understanding, classical music follows baroque music and is superseded by romantic music; it develops a style, the classical style, as perfected by Haydn and Mozart. For others classical music has broader significance, referring to a cultural practice that predates the eighteenth century, going as far back as Gregorian chant and extending through the present. There are a variety of factors that define that practice, some more enduring than others: transmission through musical notation, theories of tonal systems, techniques of composition. Formal analysis, though often considered a sub-discipline of music theory and hence purely descriptive and objective, is hardly value free. Aesthetic interests and prejudices come into play, whether implicitly or explicitly.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II
URBANST 27Q:
The Detective and the City
This seminar will analyze the social reality of three historic cities (London in the 1880s and 90s, San Francisco in the 1920s and 30s, and contemporary Shanghai) through the prism of popular crime fiction featuring three great literary detectives (Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, and Qiu Xiaolong's Chief Inspector Chen). As a student in this course, you will explore why crime fiction is so popular, why the fear of crime is so much a part of modern urban culture, and why the police detective and the private investigator have become iconic code heroes of pulp fiction, movies, TV shows, and even video games. If you take this class, you will have the opportunity to write a paper and present your research on one of the classic literary detectives or on one of today's related manifestations of the same impulse in mass-market tales of superheroes, vampires, and the zombie apocalypse.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
URBANST 140F:
Casablanca - Algiers - Tunis : Cities on the Edge (AFRICAAM 236B, CSRE 140S, FRENCH 236, FRENCH 336, HISTORY 245C)
Casablanca, Algiers and Tunis embody three territories, real and imaginary, which never cease to challenge the preconceptions of travelers setting sight on their shores. In this class, we will explore the myriad ways in which these cities of North Africa, on the edge of Europe and of Africa, have been narrated in literature, cinema, and popular culture. We will look at the historical development shaping their respective architecture and why they became the three major urban centers in North Africa. Home to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, they are an ebullient laboratory of social, political, religious, and cultural issues, global and local, between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. We will look at mass images of these cities, from films to maps, novels to photographs, sketching a new vision of these magnets as places where power, social rituals, legacies of the Ottoman and French colonial past, and the influence of the global economy collude and collide. Special focus on class, gender, and race. Open to both undergrad and grad students!
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
URBANST 153:
CAPITALS: How Cities Shape Cultures, States, and People (COMPLIT 100, DLCL 100, FRENCH 175, GERMAN 175, HISTORY 206E, ILAC 175, ITALIAN 175)
This course takes students on a trip to major capital cities, at different moments in time: Renaissance Florence, Golden Age Madrid, Colonial Mexico City, Enlightenment and Romantic Paris, Existential and Revolutionary St. Petersburg, Roaring Berlin, Modernist Vienna, and bustling Buenos Aires. While exploring each place in a particular historical moment, we will also consider the relations between culture, power, and social life. How does the cultural life of a country intersect with the political activity of a capital? How do large cities shape our everyday experience, our aesthetic preferences, and our sense of history? Why do some cities become cultural capitals? Primary materials for this course will consist of literary, visual, sociological, and historical documents (in translation); authors we will read include Boccaccio, Dante, Sor Juana, Montesquieu, Baudelaire, Gogol, Irmgard Keun, Freud, and Borges. Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
URBANST 180Q:
How to be Governed Otherwise: Art, Activism, and the City (ARTSINST 180Q, CEE 131Q)
This course will introduce you to contemporary art¿s engagement with political activism. This introduction will focus on the city as, at once, a field and target of activism¿a field of public appearance, artistic intervention, and political action, as well as a target of claims to residence, livelihood, recognition, justice, and collectivity. We will pose activist politics, artistic intervention, and urban space as mutually imbricated, each shaping the possibilities, programs, and histories of the other¿a perspective that offers insights into the spatiality, materiality, and visuality of political identity, agency, and action. Over the quarter, we will study some of the many artistic interventions that are encompassed by urban activism, from informal and everyday practices to protest, resistance, and occupation. Comparative case studies will be drawn from a global context. You will investigate these case studies through both research on urban activism and activist practice; the seminar will therefore invite you to explore the militant possibilities of research, the research possibilities of activism, and the implications of each for the production of art.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
URBANST 181A:
Art, Gentrification, & Intersectional Racial Politics (AFRICAAM 181, ARTSINST 181)
This course addresses the role of artists and art bureaucracies in the gentrification of minority neighborhoods, examining contested sites in New York, Oakland, East LA, and New Orleans. Students consider histories of underdevelopment and displacement, asking what these processes may reveal about greater contests over space, aesthetics, power, and knowledge. The course serves as an opportunity to engage urban cultural politics from the perspectives of critical race theory, queer studies, and feminist critique as well as through encounters with works by William Pope.L, Laura Aguilar, Paul Chan, and others.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
URBANST 182:
Activating Urban Spaces: Materializing Hidden Narratives in the Urban Environment (ARTSINST 182)
This course will investigate the organization and shaping of public space from the perspective of story and narrative. The course will consider how authorized narratives feature in the built environment and in the social spaces and usage of the city and how unauthorized, sometimes contentious narratives lurk beneath the surface and persist on the "skin" of the city. It will investigate the role of artists and the arts in "mapping" or surfacing alternative stories, concepts and imaginations of how the city is or can be. Inspired by the writings of Michel DeCerteau and Italo Calvino, this class explores the role of narrative in the city and the imagination from the perspective of cultural memory, lived experience, usage of space and organization of the built infrastructure. It offers an alternative approach to thinking about cities, how they are formed and how they function. This class will utilize and combine active field research methods with creative practice. Locations for our field research and excursions will include areas around Stanford and the Bay Area. The class will function as a hybrid seminar and collaborative studio workspace supporting students interested in applying creative practices to field research to develop methods for materializing narratives in various forms of public performance or place-specific art. Students will develop research for projects tailored to a particular location of their choosing and will explore the idea of the 'hidden city' its histories and its communities.
Last offered: Spring 2018
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
URBANST 183A:
Creative Climate Futures: Art, Climate Change & Urban Life (ARTSINST 183)
Climate change is a defining factor of this generation, and yet while scientists unanimously warn of the inevitability of climate change, it remains a looming specter. This course builds an intersectional and structural understanding of climate change, and explores how art activates the intangibility of climate change, making it visible, visceral, and political. We will examine how the geographies of colonialism, racial capitalism, and migration produce climate change inequities, and how the climate justice movement addresses these through creative forms of resistance. We will undertake this exploration in three parts: first, by engaging with the cities of New Orleans and San Juan, to understand how climate catastrophe aggravates existing inequalities, and how residents creatively respond to disaster. From there we will consider how art serves as a form of politics, how it is taken up in social movements to provoke shifts in political consciousness. Lastly, we will engage directly with political art forms that address climate change, with a particular focus on those that centralize the experiences of populations most at risk of climate catastrophe. These art forms call attention to who bears the disproportionate burden of climatic shift, which geographies are most at risk, and how these creative interpretations envision climate futures. The course will culminate in a collective creative project in which students address climate change and climate futures from their own lived experiences.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
URBANST 184:
Paris: Capital of the Modern World (FRENCH 140, FRENCH 340, HISTORY 230C)
This course explores how Paris, between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, became the political, cultural, and artistic capital of the modern world. It considers how the city has both shaped and been shaped by the tumultuous events of modern history- class conflict, industrialization, imperialism, war, and occupation. It will also explore why Paris became the major world destination for intellectuals, artists and writers. Sources will include films, paintings, architecture, novels, travel journals, and memoirs. Course taught in English with an optional French section.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
URBANST 186:
Creativity: Anatomy of a Buzzword (ARTSINST 184)
Creativity is one of the defining values of our time, embraced by corporate CEOs, kindergarten teachers, and starving artists alike. Yet it not always clear what creativity means. This course will explore how the capacious concept of creativity has shaped contemporary ideals of work, art, technology, human nature, and the good society. Using a mix of popular texts, contemporary scholarship, and classics of social thought, we will look at what kinds of products, places, and people count as 'creative' in public conversation, and why. Particular attention will be paid to how different overlapping notions of creativity have guided arts policy, business practices, and urban economic strategy over the last few decades of capitalist development. Using Stanford itself as a case study, students will conduct field work to discover how the concept of creativity operates across and between the various departments, disciplines, and centers on campus, from the fine arts to psychology to business. This research will culminate in the final group project: a multimedia archive and digital concept map of creativity discourse at Stanford. Students will come away from the class with concrete research skills and theoretical tools that will enable them to critically engage with any big ideas in the public sphere, as well as a better understanding of recent economic and cultural history underpinning our everyday assumptions and widely held values.
Last offered: Winter 2018
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
